Jonathan Newell holds a BA from Ithaca College in Piano Performance and Art History and an MA (summa cum laude) in Piano Performance and an MA (summa cum laude) in Composition from Hunter College. He is a member of the piano faculty of the Diller-Quaile School of Music in Manhattan and the State University of New York (Adirondack) and is a pianist and composer with The Adirondack Repertory Dance Theater. Mr. Newell gave his New York debut in 2009 at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and was recognized as a Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers for 2006-2007. He performs as much as 150 times a year throughout the northeastern US as a pianist or as a pop/guitarist and singer. He is a former string bassist with the Glens Falls Symphony. He is a 2002 recipient of an individual artist grant from the New York State Council for the Arts. He has studied piano with Edward Housman at Skidmore College, Phiroze Mehta at Ithaca College, Steven Graff at Hunter College and Dr. Julie Jordan at the Juilliard School and has performed in master classes with Andre-Michel Schub, Paul Badura-Skoda and Mordeci Shehori. He studied composition with Shafer Mahoney. “In the showpiece of the afternoon, Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, Newell ranged easily over chromatic scales and arpeggios, thunderous chords and dramatically hushed intervals, enhanced by excellent pedal work.” Jean Swain, The Rutland Herald (Vermont, USA) September 1988 “…much of the success of the (Adirondack Repertory Dance Theater) concert is directly attributable to the superb accompanist Jonathan Newell. Newell, an excellent pianist, infused the music with spirit and clarity. His new ‘Celebration (Signs of Life)’ is a bold firecracker of a piece – a blistering explosion of cascading sound.” Janet Loudon, The Glens Falls Post Star (Glens Falls, NY, USA) May 2002 “I found myself smiling with delight at the ‘Two Folk Songs’. They are really attractive. His Bach (Tocatta in D Major, BWV 912) had just the right seasoning of personal romanticism. All in all this cd is a find.” Esther Barrett-Ayres, Aberdeen, Scotland, May 2009