Parker, Jon Kimura (real name, John David Kimura)
Parker, Jon Kimura (real name, John David Kimura)
Parker, Jon Kimura (real name, John David Kimura), Canadian pianist, brother of Jamie Parker; b. Vancouver, Dec. 25, 1959. He studied with Jessie Morrison and was only 5 when he appeared as soloist with the Vancouver Youth Orch. After further training with his uncle, Edward J. Parker, with Kum-Sing Lee at the Vancouver Academy of Music (performance certificate, 1977), and with Marek Jablonski at the Banff School of Fine Arts, he completed his studies with Adele Marcus at the Juilliard School in N.Y. (B.Mus. and M.Mus., 1981; D.M.A., 1989). In 1982 he won the Vina del Mar Competition in Chile, and in 1983 toured Europe as a soloist with the Juilliard Orch. After capturing 1st prize in the Leeds Competition in 1984, he appeared as a soloist with principal orchs. the worl-dover and as a recitalist. His commanding technical resources are notably refined by a gift for poetic lyricism, which serves him well as an interpreter of the Romantic repertoire. He has also played much out-of-the-ordinary music, ranging from rags to contemporary Canadian works.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire