Jonathan Spitz

Cello

Cellist Jonathan Spitz has established himself as one of the leading cellists in the New York area with his performances as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal. In recent seasons, Mr. Spitz has performed the Dvorak Concerto and Brahms "Double" Concerto with the New Jersey Symphony, Bloch's Schelomo, and the Elgar Concerto with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and the Haydn Sinfonia Concertante on a tour of Southeast Asia with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and at the Bard Festival. His performance of the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto at the OK Mozart Festival received a nationwide broadcast on NPR's Performance Today.

Mr. Spitz is an active chamber musician, and performs regularly with the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players, Bard Festival Chamber Players and as a guest artist in chamber music festivals throughout the world. He performed for three summers at the Marlboro Festival, and has played concerts with Rudolf Serkin, Oscar Shumsky, Benita Valente, Bargemusic, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, and Speculum Musicae.

Mr. Spitz has been Principal Cellist of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 1990, and performs on the 1696 "ex. Prince Gursky" Stradivarius from the Symphony's Golden Age Collection. He is a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and performs with them on their international tours, Carnegie Hall series and numerous recordings. He is also principal cellist of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra and the Bard Festival Orchestra.

In recent years, Mr. Spitz has become increasingly sought after as a teacher and coach. He serves on the faculties of the Mason Gross school of the Arts at Rutgers University and the School for Strings Summer Chamber Music Workshop and is an instructor for the Orchestral Repertoire class for cellists at the Manhattan School of Music.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute, Mr. Spitz has studied with David Soyer, Felix Galimir, Karen Tuttle, Mischa Schneider, Gerald Beal, and Robert Gardner. He has recorded for Deutsche Gramaphon., Telarc, Sony, Nonesuch, Delos, CRI, XLNT, and New World.

Jonathan Spitz lives with his wife, cellist Susannah Chapman, and children Gabriella, Sebastian and Lukas.