Artist Spotlight
These lively Q&A's aim to shed light on the personalities behind the music. Get to know your favorite artists...or discover someone new!
Jon Nakamatsu is the epitome of “local boy makes good.” He burst on the international music scene in 1997 when he was named the Gold Medalist at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He was certainly an unexpected winner; he had studied with one teacher since he was 6 years old, he had neither attended a music conservatory nor studied music in college, and he had a full-time job teaching German at a Mountain View high school. Although he now spends much of his time performing around the U.S., Europe, and Japan, he still lives in San José.
Last June, soprano Leah Crocetto won the first prize, Spanish Prize, and People’s Choice at the José Iturbi International Music Competition in Los Angeles. On March 14, she was one of five winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York City.