| Pianist
Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Jon Kimura
Parker was born, raised, and educated in Vancouver.
A true Canadian ambassador of music, Mr. Parker has
given two command performances for Queen Elizabeth II,
and has performed for the Prime Ministers of Canada
and Japan, and for the United States Supreme Court.
A remarkably versatile artist, Mr. Parker has, in recent
seasons, performed in Carnegie Hall (with the Orchestra
of St. Luke's, the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Philadelphia
Orchestra), Chicago's Orchestra Hall, the Hong Kong
Cultural Centre, London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and the
Sydney Opera House; toured the Canadian Arctic as part
of "Piano Six" performing the music of Beethoven,
Chopin, Nirvana, and Alanis Morissette on an electronic
keyboard for over 1,000 Inuit school students; jammed
with Doc Severinsen and the original Tonight Show Orchestra;
been profiled in "Newsweek" magazine in Australia;
and given an impromptu concert at the Victoria Falls
Hotel while on safari in Zimbabwe. He also played himself
in a guest appearance on the children's program "Under
the Umbrella Tree" on the Disney Channel.
Equally eclectic in recording, Mr. Parker's previous
recordings for Telarc have included a solo Chopin album,
Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev Piano Concerti with Andre
Previn, and a recent venture into comedy as Peter Schickele's
pianistic sparring partner in the "Concerto for
Two Pianos vs. Orchestra" by the fabled P.D.Q.
Bach. Last spring Telarc released a new recording of
Jon Kimura Parker performing the Samuel Barber Piano
Concerto with Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony.
On New Year's Eve, 1995, Jon Kimura Parker gave a benefit
performance of Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto
in war-torn Sarajevo. The concert, sponsored by AmeriCares,
was televised live in 59 countries worldwide, and was
covered by CNN.
In November 1996 Jon Kimura Parker received the Governor
General's Performing Arts Award, joining such distinguished
company as Joni Mitchell and Oscar Peterson. In 1999
he was invested with the Order of Canada, his country's
highest honor.
Mr. Parker is the host of CBC Radio Two’s five-part
series “Up and Coming,” which showcases
the talents of promising young musicians (19 and under)
across Canada. A passionate educator, Mr. Parker hosts
the classical music television series "Whole Notes"
on Bravo Canada, and this fall begins accepting a limited
number of exceptional piano students at Rice University
in Houston.
"Jackie" Parker began training with his uncle,
Edward Parker, with daily coaching from his mother Keiko
Parker. He also studied with Robin Wood and Marek Jablonski,
which led to four years of advanced study with Lee Kum-Sing
at the Vancouver Academy of Music. He was subsequently
admitted to The Juilliard School on full scholarship
as a student of the renowned pedagogue Adele Marcus.
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JON
KIMURA PARKER
