Jonathan Wilson is a pianist and repetiteur currently on Opera Austalia’s full time music staff. He has been involved in the musical preparation (as both pianist and assistant conductor) of many operas performed at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne State Theatre and Brisbane QPAC including Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen and Lohengrin, the world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s Whiteley and a concert performance of Ponchielli’s La Gioconda (starring Jonas Kaufman) to name but a few. 

Prior to his work at Opera Australia, Jonathan was in demand as an associate artist in Sydney. He won first prizes in both the Mietta Song Competition (Melbourne, 2016) and Geoffrey Parsons Award (Adelaide, 2017) as well as receiving scholarships for further study from the Melba Opera Trust, Sydney Savage Club and Wagner Society of NSW. 

He returned to Australia in 2015 after being awarded a Doctorate of Music (Piano Performance) by the University of Montreal, under the tutelage of Marc Durand and Paul Stewart. In that time, Jonathan performed regularly throughout Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia and France. Highlights include solo performances at such prestigious venues as Wigmore Hall, St James Piccadilly in London, Australia House London (in the presence of the Governor General of Australia), the Jacqueline du Pre Hall in Oxford, the National Library of Estonia in Tallinn, the Glaaspaleis in Heerlen (Netherlands), the Birmingham Town Hall, and the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.

Jonathan Wilson particularly enjoys collaborating with singers and instrumentalists. His concerto performances include Mozart Concerto K414 with the European Union Chamber Orchestra (Bromsgrove Festival), Liszt Concerto no.1 with the Sussex Concert Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Concerto no.1 with Finchley Chamber Orchestra (London) and with the Sussex Concert Orchestra. Jonathan’s recitals have been broadcast nationally on ABC Classic FM.

Jonathan completed a Bachelor of Arts (Music) at the University of Sydney before relocating to London in 2006. His studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama were generously supported by the Australian Music Foundation, the Tait Memorial Trust, the Marion MacAulay Bequest Scholarship (Sydney University), and the Guildhall’s Sergei Rachmaninov Award, Phyllis Simmons Award and Dennis & Sylvia Forbes Award. Jonathan graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Bachelor of Music and Master in Performance degrees. Jonathan went on to hold a prestigious Guildhall Junior Fellowship during 2010 – 2011 before moving to Montreal for his doctoral studies.

Jonathan Wilson has won numerous competitions including first prize in the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, second prize in the Australian National Piano Award and third prize and highest placed pianist in the Bromsgrove Young Artists Platform. Jonathan’s past teachers include Joan Havill and Anne Queffélec. He has participated in masterclasses with such well known pianists as Leon Fleisher, Maria Joao Pires and Ferenc Rados.

AT THE FESTIVAL