In a world of countless singer songwriters, Jonathan Z's impeccably trained voice, piano accompaniment, and provocative lyrics combine to forge an innovative path..
Jonathan Z's music is at once intellectual and accessible, dark yet hopeful, and stark yet emotional. Blending traditional ballad structures, haunting melodies, and poetic lyrics, Jonathan Z explores an ever changing society as a whole, while delving into his own internal human struggle.
Jonathan Z brings to his music a wealth of
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In a world of countless singer songwriters, Jonathan Z's impeccably trained voice, piano accompaniment, and provocative lyrics combine to forge an innovative path..
Jonathan Z's music is at once intellectual and accessible, dark yet hopeful, and stark yet emotional. Blending traditional ballad structures, haunting melodies, and poetic lyrics, Jonathan Z explores an ever changing society as a whole, while delving into his own internal human struggle.
Jonathan Z brings to his music a wealth of experience from his career as a stage performer in the worlds of opera and musical theater. The son of a music teacher and church pianist, Jonathan Z's passion for music developed at an early age. He spent years as a boy soprano before studying piano and trombone. In 2009, Jonathan completed his graduate degree in vocal performance at the prestigious University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). An avid proponent for arts education and awareness, Jonathan also holds a BA in Music Education.
Jonathan has performed throughout the United States with companies such as the Cincinnati Opera, Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Memphis, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Illinois, Muddy River Opera, the Michigan Opera Academy, the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center, CCM Opera, and Western Illinois University Opera Theatre. Jonathan’s roles include Frederic in Pirates of Penzance, the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Tamino in The Magic Flute, the title role in Candide, Nanki Poo in The Mikado, Goro in Madama Butterfly, Baglioni in Rappaccini’s Daughter, Beppe in I Pagliacci, Schmidt in Werther, Matteo Borsa in Rigoletto, Rolf in The Sound of Music, Lun Tha in The King & I, and Prince Charming in Cinderella. He has performed as a soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass, Magnificat, and Weihnachts-Oratorium, in Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes, and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. He has appeared as a soloist with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra, the CCM Philharmonia, the CCM Concert Orchestra, and the Western Illinois University Symphony Orchestra.
Jonathan Z is an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights and writes about LGBT equality & the arts as a Huffington Post blogger. His music carries a hope for a more just and equitable future for all.