Jonathan Shih

Rex & Edwina Gardner Genre Prize, Impromptu · Results

Plays Friday, October 9, at 1:00 pm Running order

Seattle, Washington · product designer

Jonathan's parents claim he asked for piano lessons at age four. Whether true or not, he studied with several Chicago-area teachers (most notably Emilio del Rosario) and continued briefly at Northwestern University under James Giles before a minor hand injury and the Great Recession led him to forgo piano for an engineering degree. Following a decade-long hiatus, he returned to the piano and currently studies with Peter Mack. Jonathan has won top prizes at several adult amateur piano competitions, including first prize at Oberlin (2025), third at Boston (2026), and two finals appearances at WIPAC (2024, 2026). Outside music, Jonathan is a product designer at a small startup and enjoys cooking, traveling, and collecting other hobbies.

First Programme

Haydn – Sonata in F major, Hob. XVI:23: I. ModeratoChopin – Impromptu No. 2 in F-sharp major, Op. 36Lili Boulanger – D'un jardin clair, from Trois morceauxKapustin – Concert Étude in A-flat major, Op. 40, No. 2, Reverie

Second Programme

Chopin – Variations brillantes, Op. 12Jonathan Shih – Prelude in G minor, Op. 1, By the SeaPaderewski – Nocturne in B-flat major, Op. 16, No. 4Chasins – Prelude in E-flat minor, Op. 12, No. 2Dutilleux – Sonata: III. Choral et variations

Schedule

Friday, October 9, at 1:00 pm, in Session 2. The full running order is on the schedule page.

Hiko SakamotoMichael Slavin