Jon Kimura Parker
Artistic Advisor
Mr. Parker is one of the world’s leading classical pianists, playing as many as 100 concerts annually everywhere from New York’s Carnegie Hall to London, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Tasmania. He has given two command performances for her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has recorded as guest soloist with Andre Previn, jammed in an impromptu concert with Doc Severinsen and the original Tonight Show Orchestra, and was a celebrity guest on the children’s television program Under the Umbrella Tree on the Disney Channel. In November 1996 Jon Kimura Parker received the Governor General’s Arts Award, the most prestigious arts award in Canada. Gold Medal winner at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition, he was also awarded his country’s highest honor for lifetime achievement, the Order of Canada. A committed educator, Mr. Parker joined the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston in 2000. He studied in his native Vancouver BC with Edward Parker, Keiko Parker, and Lee Kum-Sing, and with Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School.
