Jon Kimura Parker - 2004 MTNA National Conference Artists

American Music Teacher, Feb-March, 2004 by Gail Berenson

I hope all students will take careful note of what his performance routine is for debuting a new composition. All musicians, not just young students, need to try out their performance in front of others! I try to arrange a few performances in friends' living rooms, etc. because you can't really know what's going to happen with a new work until you try to play it for someone. This explains the famous story of Arthur Rubinstein playing works for the elevator operator in his Paris apartment building!

This experience of trying out a program in front of friends is a proven strategy for helping one to feel more comfortable playing in public and dealing with performance anxiety. I asked Parker if he had ever experienced performance anxiety issues. Well, certainly! What I've found is that as I get older and more experienced, that it's harder to learn new works, but that the experience of being onstage is more comfortable. I'm almost always nervous for such special occasions as live television, any concert in Carnegie Hall etc. Or sometimes nerves hit me for no reason at all. It can be appallingly unnerving to know specifically of even one other pianist in the audience! On the other hand, I find performing an incredibly joyful experience, so I always try to channel the nerves into that kind of positive energy.

It is that positive energy and intense desire to share the emotion of the music with the audience that make Jon Kimura Parker such a joy to hear in performance. Counting myself very fortunate to have seen him in concert several times, I can attest to the energy and excitement he brings to a performance. His playing appears incredibly effortless, yet it is clear Parker is intensely focused on the music, with each gesture accurately reflecting the character of the music and the sound he wants to project to the listener. What he conveys most is the emotion of the music, sharing his passion with the audience. It is no accident that standing ovations are a common occurrence for this gifted and enthusiastic performer.

I asked, "What do you want people sitting in your audiences to know about you?" All performers have reasons for performing. Some have important artistic points of view to make; others need to prove that they can do it, etc. It's very complicated, in fact. But I've always wanted everyone to know that my reason for being onstage is that I love the music that I'm playing, and I want everyone to love it as much as I do. I've found that after my daughter was born (four year ago) that I have more confidence in letting some of the music speak for itself--some of the most profound changes that come with parenthood are the gradual dissolution of some aspects of ego--so I'm not as motivated to try to be "impressive" in every bar.

I asked Parker if he felt his life experiences significantly influenced his performances. I can't say--I always believe that personal experiences will influence my playing. But after a concert I feel like it was just about the music and the act of performing and not really about something that happened to me. For me, the basic rhythm of the performance takes over. I think it would be different for composers--when the act of creation takes so much care and there is time to reflect. Composers are far more likely to reflect their times and their experiences than performers.