Biography

Pianist Jonathan Mak is from Toronto, Canada, and he began studying piano at the age of three with Aster Lai. He made his orchestra debut with the Canadian Sinfonietta just one year later, at the age of 4. 

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Jonathan is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts program at Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker.Jonathan studied with Daniel Shapiro at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance, as well as minors in viola performance and German. Under the tutelage of Boris Slutsky, he recently completed his master’s degree in piano performance at the Yale School of Music.

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Jonathan’s international accomplishments include first prize at the 2009 Manchester International Concerto Competition for Young Pianists; the 2013 Jean Lumb Foundation Kotcheff Family Arts Award; and the 2021 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award. He has been a guest soloist with numerous orchestras, most notably the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Bulgaria, Manchester Camerata, Orchestra Filarmonica di Udine, and Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, and has also given recitals in Italy, Bulgaria, Manchester, China, Vienna, and Poland.

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Passionate about chamber music, he has been invited to perform at various festivals including the Festival of the Sound in Ontario, Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Edinburgh International Festival. He has attended various summer festivals, including the Aspen Summer Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival. 

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Jonathan recently received the 2rd prize at the OSM competition, performing with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He was a semifinalist in the 12th Dublin International Piano Competition and the Fifth Maj Lind International Piano Competition. He participated as one of the 30 competitors in the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.