Jon Nathan

Bio

Director of the UCSB Jazz Ensemble, Jon Nathan has been a figure in the Santa Barbara musical scene since his arrival here in 1992. He holds a B.M. in Jazz Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an M.M. in Percussion Performance from Cal State University at Northridge. During his time there, he was introduced to William Kraft, and was asked to continue studies with Professor Kraft at UCSB, where he completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Currently, Dr. Nathan is Director of Jazz Ensembles and teaches other courses at UCSB including Jazz Combos, Jazz Harmony (Jazz Fundamentals), and a GE course he created, Music 16, Listening to Jazz. He has also served as Principal Percussionist with the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera, and continues to perform regularly with the Santa Barbara Symphony, and has performed with other regional orchestras including Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and Santa Monica Symphony and is principal timpanist and percussionist (and founding member) of the Opera Santa Barbara Orchestra where he has played for over 30 years. Dr. Nathan was also the Percussion and Percussion Ensemble instructor at UCSB and led the ensemble in many concerts and experiences, including secondary school performances for the Santa Barbara school system, collaborations with the UCSB dance department, and collaborations with other ensembles and musicians at UCSB.

Dr. Nathan was also the original drummer in the Animal Liberation Orchestra and in various jazz groups in Santa Barbara, including the Nate Birkey Quintet. He has served as Jazz Ensemble Director and Percussion Instructor at Moorpark College, has taught Techniques of Percussion at Westmont College, and was the Applied Music Percussion Instructor at Santa Barbara City College. He has also served on the faculty of the Jazz in July Improvisation Workshop, held on the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, with such jazz luminaries as Yusef Lateef, Dr. Billy Taylor, Sheila Jordan and the Turtle Island String Quartet.

As a musician interested in the intersection of Jazz with other music, musical theater has been an area of interest and work for Dr. Nathan. He has not only performed as professional musician in countless music theater productions, but also as music director, music consultant, and composer for productions at UC Santa Barbara (Venus, Cabaret, Mr. Burns - A Post-Electric Play, Vanity Fair, In the Red Brown Water), in Santa Barbara (Rent, Spongebob the Musical, ETC Fundraising Revue, Sweeney Todd, Frankenstein, Sunday in the Park with George, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah (Peter and the Starcatcher, Anything Goes), and for Santa Barbara High School Music Theater (Spamelot, Big Fish, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Head Over Heels, Firecatcher, Music of the Night 2015, 2016, 2017, Matilda, Bullets Over Broadway, Urinetown, Crybaby, The Last Five Years, and his personal favorite, In the Heights).

In his free time, Dr. Nathan enjoys walking with his dog Major, spending time with his life partner Sherylle Englander, playing golf, cycling, swimming and running, and traveling.