Artist Profile: Jonathan Davis, Oboist

Jonathan Davis began his musical training as a soprano in the Choir of Men and Boys at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston. “I think it’s an important part of my background,” Jonathan shared with me. “I started in 3rd grade, and though the pay was small, I thought, “Wow, I can get paid for this!” I knew my voice would eventually change, so I chose the oboe to study, both because I was attracted to playing the melodic parts based on what I sang in the choir, and partly because a friend of mine had a mother who was a professional oboist.”

Jonathan went on to study oboe with Fred Cohen at the New England Conservatory during high school. He attended Juilliard and studied with Ronald Roseman but found the school too large and narrow for his interests. Roseman also taught at Yale, and Jonathan had previously been admitted to study there, as well.. “So I chose to leave Juilliard and go to Yale, where I could continue to study with Roseman.”

But Jonathan found other interests during his time at Yale. “While there, I toured southeast Asia with an orchestra. It was a spectacular and overwhelming experience. I decided to study Chinese because of it, and with all the credits I accumulated in that area, I ended up with a B.A. in East Asian Studies,” Jonathan explained. “It allowed me to take the most broad liberal arts curriculum, which I also liked.”

“I received a grant to go to China in 1989, where I studied the suona, a Chinese instrument similar to the oboe. While I was there, the Tiananmen Square protests took place. It was a very exciting time!” Jonathan said.

Jonathan ended up back at Juilliard, earning his M.M. and D.M.A., as well as being awarded the first Stephen Alpert Memorial Scholarship. While living in New York, Jonathan was a member of the New Haven and Hartford Symphonies, and performed with the New York Woodwind Quintet, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and as soloist on NPR’s Performance Today.

Jonathan is currently a faculty member at UCLA and plays regularly with the LA Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, and the San Diego Symphony. He is also a member of the Northwind Quintet, a woodwind quintet that introduces the fun of music to elementary schools. He is also active as a studio musician.

I asked Jonathan about performing chamber music and how it compares with orchestral playing. “In chamber music, your softs have to be softer, and your louds have to be louder,” he began. “There’s more pressure and responsibility. You have to sometimes convince your colleagues, or they have to convince you. It’s a wonderful musical experience.”

With our opening concerts of our 25th season being his debut performances with Pacific Serenades, Jonathan spoke about his excitement in playing with Mark Carlson, David Speltz, and Patricia Mabee. “Though I haven’t worked with Pacific Serenades before, I am very much looking forward to performing with such great musicians. I’m also excited about performing the Bach Trio Sonata, and especially the Telemann Sonata. I think Telemann had such an interesting life and his music is so extraordinary.”

I also asked Jonathan about premiering a new work on this program. “I’ve always been a fan of living composers. I actually require my students to program at least one living composer on their recital programs!” Jonathan said. “In performing new music, you’re always trying to find the composer’s idea. It’s a nice challenge to have a piece without a long performance history behind it. I like having a fresh look at the music. And if you can work with the composer, that’s always a great opportunity.”