Distinguished Concerts International - New York

Co-Founder, Artistic Director & Principal Conductor

The co-founder of Distinguished Concerts International New York, Jonathan Griffith is an active conductor, educator, lecturer, and consultant. His many conducting credits in this country and abroad include the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Salt Lake City; Manhattan Philharmonic and New England Symphonic Ensemble, both in performances at Carnegie Hall; The European Symphony Orchestra, Spain; Bohuslava Martinů Philharmonia and Philharmonia Chorus, Virtuosi Pregensis Chamber Orchestra, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, and Dvořák Chamber Orchestra, Czech Republic; Bialystok State Philharmonic, Poland; and several regional orchestras and choruses in the U.S.

As the conductor of the World Premiere of Earnestine Rodgers Robinson's The Nativity in Carnegie Hall, he was featured in an interview which aired on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. He also appeared in two recent documentaries about Ms. Robinson and her music - "Hidden Treasure," shown this past summer in the Hoboken International Film Festival, and "Sounds of a Miracle," which premiered at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and was selected for the Los Angeles Shorts Festival, a festival of short films.

Jonathan Griffith made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 1989. His combined 50-plus conducting appearances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center span the major works of the classical repertoire and include the U.S. premieres of Welsh composer Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater and Te Deum, Russian composer Sergei Taneyev's Upon Reading a Psalm, Czech composer Miloš Bok's Missa Solemnis, Luigi Boccherini's Villancicos, and Eugène Goossens' re-orchestration of Handel's Messiah; as well as numerous world premieres, including Eric Funk's Pamelia, Seymour Bernstein's Song of Nature, and Robert Convery's The Unknown Region and I Have a Dream.

Most recently in the summer of 2009, Maestro Griffith led his vocal ensemble, the Jonathan Griffith Singers, to the People's Republic of China, conducting two China Premieres of Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man - Music for Peace performed by the celebrated XinYa KongQi Symphony Orchestra at Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall and Shanghai's Oriental Arts Center. These highly anticipated concert events were recognized internationally, as they commemorated the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

During the summer of 2007, Maestro Griffith led the Singers to Italy in stunning performances of Verdi's Requiem at two historic venues - the Church of Santa Marie Sopra Minerva in Rome and the Cathedral Duomo in Pisa. The concert in Pisa celebrated the 20th anniversary of its designation as an international historic landmark, and of the performance, a reviewer for Il Tirreno remarked: "The Mass' performance received great acclaim resulting in an extended standing ovation. Those attending the concert found the Duomo's unique architecture and beautiful lighting added to the concert, thus giving it a magical spiritual quality."

He has served as chorus master for the Utah and Portland Opera companies; founded the Kansas City Chorale and the Jonathan Griffith Singers; and was a member of the faculties of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Wichita State University; Marylhurst University and Warner Pacific College, both in Portland, Oregon.

A native of St. Louis, he received his B.M.E. from the University of Kansas, an M.M.E. from Wichita State University, and his D.M.A. in Conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

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