Courses Taught
MUS 151 – Chamber Ensemble – StringsMUS 1S1 – Applied Strings
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Jonathan Thomson, M.M.Cello Studies |
Phone: (360) 224-5026 Email: jthomson@apu.edu |
One doesn't accidentally become a musician, but living in a school district that has an orchestra, being able to afford a cello, and having five functioning digits on one's left hand is more or less happenstance. Growing up on a farm in rural Washington State, Jonathan Thomson didn't realize until much later that the cumbersome wooden box with strings would bring him the good fortune of traveling to perform in England, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, South Korea. He began playing the cello in fifth grade in public school because he wanted to learn French horn, but lacked the patience needed to wait until band started in sixth grade. Luckily, he never made the switch the following year. His family bought his first cello with an injury settlement after a car accident; around the same time, he nearly had his ring finger amputated because of a basketball injury.
Although he hates to admit it, Jonathan is drawn to the musical field because music fosters and requires meaningful interactions between dynamic people. As a chamber musician, Jonathan has formed successful string quartets and piano trios that participated in the Fischoff and Coleman chamber music competitions. While in these groups, he received instruction from the Icicle Creek Piano Trio and the Kronos, St. Lawrence, Brentano, Lafayette, and Penderecki quartets. Jonathan has taught at Azusa Pacific University since 2008 and has also taught at the Harmony Project, Education Through Music—LA, Diamond Bar High School, and many private music academies.
Music is, to Jonathan, an unsolvable puzzle. Part of his attraction to the cello is that the work has no end. Further evidence of his bizarre tendencies (or perhaps a belief in futility) is his unexplainable fixation with running long distances to return to where he began (he has run four marathons). For the past three years, UCLA cello professor Antonio Lysy has been overseeing Jonathan's cello puzzle, which was also temporarily handed over to Lynn Harrell. Never one to be idle, Jonathan has also been a teaching assistant for classes in the widely renowned Department of Musicology such as History of the Beatles and History of Rock 'n' Roll. He lives in Pasadena and enjoys traveling, reading, and watching tennis (Viva Rafa!).
Although he hates to admit it, Jonathan is drawn to the musical field because music fosters and requires meaningful interactions between dynamic people. As a chamber musician, Jonathan has formed successful string quartets and piano trios that participated in the Fischoff and Coleman chamber music competitions. While in these groups, he received instruction from the Icicle Creek Piano Trio and the Kronos, St. Lawrence, Brentano, Lafayette, and Penderecki quartets. Jonathan has taught at Azusa Pacific University since 2008 and has also taught at the Harmony Project, Education Through Music—LA, Diamond Bar High School, and many private music academies.
Music is, to Jonathan, an unsolvable puzzle. Part of his attraction to the cello is that the work has no end. Further evidence of his bizarre tendencies (or perhaps a belief in futility) is his unexplainable fixation with running long distances to return to where he began (he has run four marathons). For the past three years, UCLA cello professor Antonio Lysy has been overseeing Jonathan's cello puzzle, which was also temporarily handed over to Lynn Harrell. Never one to be idle, Jonathan has also been a teaching assistant for classes in the widely renowned Department of Musicology such as History of the Beatles and History of Rock 'n' Roll. He lives in Pasadena and enjoys traveling, reading, and watching tennis (Viva Rafa!).
Education
B.M., Central Washington University, William O. Douglas Honors CollegeM.M., Azusa Pacific University
Credentials/Certifications
Artist Certificate, Azusa Pacific University
Department
- School of Music
