Join us for a violin masterclass with Jonathan Ong, on faculty at Oberlin Conservatory. This event is free and open to the public.
Singaporean violinist Jonathan Ong is the first violinist and founding member of the internationally acclaimed Verona Quartet. Critics have praised his playing as “charming and infectious” (South China Morning Post) and “possessed of perfection” (Oregon Arts Watch). An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, he concertizes actively throughout the world, having appeared in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Philharmonie de Paris and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Recent major engagements include solo appearances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, as well as appearances at celebrated venues and festivals such as the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Bravo! Vail, the Shanghai Symphony Hall, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Ong’s recordings with the Verona Quartet can be found on Azica Records, Bright Shiny Things Records and Dynamic Records. Their second album, “Shatter”, debuted in June 2023 at No. 1 on the U.S. Classical Billboard Charts, and was lauded for its “transportive quality” and “captivating playing” (BBC Music Magazine); their latest album, featuring the complete string quartets of György Ligeti, was released on Dynamic Records, and earned the Verona Quartet praise for their “blisteringly impressive techniques” (The Strad Magazine). The Quartet will release their fourth album, featuring the early Mendelssohn String Quartets, in August 2026.
Ong is a laureate of numerous competitions around the world including the Wigmore Hall, Bordeaux, Melbourne, Osaka, Chesapeake, Coleman and Fischoff chamber music competitions, as well as the Concert Artist Guild Competition and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition. In 2020, he and his quartet were awarded the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award by Chamber Music America. He has performed and collaborated with renowned artists such as Renee Fleming, David Shifrin, Cho-Liang Lin, Wu Man, Anne-Marie McDermott, Ning Feng, Orion Weiss, as well as members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, Borromeo and Dover Quartets.
Ong serves on the faculty of the Oberlin College & Conservatory, the ENCORE Chamber Music Summer Institute and the Singapore Chamber Music Festival; he was also recently appointed Music Director of the Credo Festival and is Co-Artistic Director of the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia. He has taught and given masterclasses at institutions such as The Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, USC Thornton School of Music, University of Texas at Austin, and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.
Born and raised in Singapore, Ong was accepted into the Eastman School of Music at age 16, with support from the National Arts Council, Shaw Foundation, and Lee Foundation. He furthered his musical studies at The Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the New England Conservatory. He counts among his influential mentors Donald Weilerstein, Alexander Kerr, Paul Kantor, Lynn Blakeslee and Lynette Lim, and he studied chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, Pacifica and Ying Quartets.
Ong performs on the “Dos Amigos” violin made by Ryan Soltis & Antoine Nédélec (c. 2024), on long term loan from an anonymous benefactor, as well as a Nicolas Lupot violin (c. 1815), on loan from the Oberlin Conservatory.