Olga Kern International Piano Competition Winner
Pianist and educator Jonathan Mamora strives to uplift and positively influence others using music as a means for service. An Indonesian American and a native of Southern California, Jonathan has served as a church pianist and organist—the result of having been enrolled in piano lessons by his parents for the purpose of becoming a church musician. He aims to use music as service not only in the church, but also in the community, through homes, schools, community centers and concert halls.
Acclaimed for his “most assured pianism,” “natural, songful lyricism” and “rippling through virtuosic passagework” (The Dallas Morning News), Jonathan has performed throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and he is a prizewinner of numerous piano competitions, most recently, winning first prize in the Concurs Internacional de Música Maria Canals Barcelona, Olga Kern International Piano Competition, AntwerPiano International Competition, Dallas International Piano Competition, Virginia Waring International Piano Competition, American Virtuoso International Music Competition, “Sviatoslav Richter” International Piano Competition, Chautauqua Piano Competition and Eastman Piano Concerto Competition. He made his concerto debut at the age of 13 with the La Sierra University Orchestra performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and he has since performed with such orchestras as the New Mexico Philharmonic, Dallas Chamber Symphony, Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya, Eastman Philharmonia and Wind Ensemble, Waring Festival Orchestra and Coachella Valley Symphony, among others. Jonathan has a number of upcoming solo and concerto engagements in the U.S., Europe and Africa, as well as upcoming recording projects. As described in a review of his 2023 debut at Carnegie Hall, “Jonathan Mamora is what one might call a ‘big’ pianist, in the best sense of the term… his playing itself is larger-than-life. Perhaps it is unsurprising for a winner of several big competitions, but he possesses a technique so solid that it seemed at times that he couldn’t play a wrong note if he tried. On top of that solidity, he dazzles, with lightning-fast fingers and an encyclopedic array of dynamics and articulations” (New York Concert Review).
Jonathan currently serves as the music director and organist of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Clifton Springs, New York. He often performs as a collaborative pianist for vocalists, instrumentalists, ensembles and choirs. As a collaborator, Jonathan holds a graduate assistantship in accompanying at the Eastman School of Music and has received the Eastman Excellence in Accompanying Award. In addition to the piano and organ, he has also performed as a percussionist, vocalist, historical keyboardist (harpsichord, fortepiano) and conductor.
Jonathan also values education as an important tool in music making. He has previously taught piano and music theory/ear training for various institutions and has conducted a series of master classes and concerts at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago. He has served as instructor for music theory and aural musicianship at the Eastman School of Music and is currently teaching piano for the Eastman Community Music School.
Jonathan is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance and literature at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Douglas Humpherys, whom he served as studio assistant. He received his bachelor’s degree in music from La Sierra University and his Master of Music from The Juilliard School. Previous teachers include Elvin Rodríguez and Hung-Kuan Chen.
