Jon Kimura Parker

Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker’s extraordinary career has taken him from Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House to Baffin Island and Zimbabwe. A true Canadian ambassador of music, he has given two command performances for Queen Elizabeth II, special performances for the United States Supreme Court, and concerts before the prime ministers of Canada and Japan. As a guest soloist, Parker has performed with the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, and The Philadelphia Orchestra.


Known to everyone as 'Jackie', Jon Kimura 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 even Tasmania and Zimbabwe. He has given two command performances for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has recorded as guest soloist with Andre Previn and P.D.Q.Bach, jammed in an impromptu concert with Doc Severinsen and the original Tonight Show Orchestra, was profiled in the Japanese fashion magazine 'Jiyu Jikan', and was a celebrity guest on the children's television program 'Under the Umbrella Tree' on the Disney Channel. On New Year's Eve, 1995, Jon Kimura Parker traveled to Bosnia in an AmeriCares airlift and performed in Sarajevo in a concert which was covered by CNN and broadcast live in 59 countries.

In November 1996 Jon Kimura Parker received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, joining such distinguished company as Joni Mitchell and Oscar Peterson. In 1999 he was invested with the Order of Canada, his country's highest honor.

A passionate educator, Mr. Parker hosted the classical music television series 'Whole Notes' on Bravo Canada, and in the fall of 2001 began accepting a limited number of exceptional piano students at Rice University in Houston.

Jackie is Artistic Advisor of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, founded by Aloysia Friedmann, and now heading toward its 11th season. The festival takes place around Labor Day weekend, on Orcas Island of the San Juan Islands, offshore Washington State, and, in addition to a roster of artists of international renown, also features a children's concert and a workshop.

If you are in the Seattle or Vancouver area on Labor Day Weekend, Orcas Island is the place to go!

Jon Kimura Parker appeared in solo performance, conversation with host Fred Child, and duo performance with violinist Cho-Liang Lin on NPR's 'Performance Today', August 15, 2002. This performance was taped in front of a live audience at SummerFest LaJolla (Cho-Liang Lin, Artistic Director) and features performances taken from Rachmaninoff Preludes Op. 32 #5 and Op. 32 #2 (g minor and G Major), 'Wizard of Oz' Fantasy based on Themes by Harold Arlen, by William Hirtz, Beethoven Sonata for Violin and Piano in c minor Op. 30 #2 (1st and 4th mvts.) and Tango in A by Astor Piazzolla.

Jon Kimura Parker's 2002 radio program 'Up and Coming' featured 25 of Canada's hottest young musical stars in interviews and performances.