Jon Nakamatsu

The Television & Movie Wiki: for TV, celebrities, and movies.

Image:Jon Nakamatsu.jpg Jon Yasuhiro Nakamatsu is a Japanese-American pianist.

In June 1997 Nakamatsu won the Gold Medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. He was the first American to win it since 1981. Since the competition, he quit his job as a high school German teacher and has become an internationally renowned pianist. Interestingly, he did not attend a music conservatory or major in music while he attended college.

In 2005, Nakamatsu toured with the San Jose Youth Symphony in Spain.

He is represented by Parker Artists, New York.

1 Education
2 Career
3 Discography
4 Awards
5 Personal
6 External links

[edit]

Education

Studied piano privately with Marina Derryberry since age 6 (1974).
A.A. Associate of Arts degree, Foothill College (community college), Los Altos Hills, California, 2000 (officially awarded long after degree requirements met)
B.A. Bachelor of Arts degree in German Studies, Stanford University, California, 1991
M.A. Master of Arts degree in Education, Stanford University, California, 1992

[edit]

Career

1997-current: Full-time pianist
1991-1997: German language teacher at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California and part-time pianist.

[edit]

Discography

compact discs
	title	label	date
1.	Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Jon Nakamatsu, Gold Medalist	Harmonia Mundi	June 1997
2.	Chopin Selected Works	Harmonia Mundi	October 1998
3.	Lukas Foss, Piano Concertos, Elegy for Anne Frank	Harmonia Mundi	April 2001
4.	Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 3, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini	Harmonia Mundi	September 2001
5.	Wölfl, 4 Piano Sonatas, Piano Sonatos Op. 25 & 33	Harmonia Mundi	November 2003
6.	Brahms, Piano Sonata, No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5	Harmonia Mundi	October 2004

Nakamatsu is featured in the documentary movie "Playing with Fire": The Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which aired on PBS television and is available on DVD.

[edit]

Awards

award	competition	location	date
Gold Medalist ($20,000)	Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition	Fort Worth, Texas	June 1997 (quadrennial)
First Prize	Fifth U.S. National Chopin Piano Competition	Miami, Florida	1995

[edit]

Personal

Born in California. 36 years old in 2005. Currently resides in San Jose, California but performs away from home 80% of the time. Son of David Y. Nakamatsu (San Jose engineer) and Karen F. Maeda Nakamatsu (city employee). Grandparents live in Hawaii.

[edit]