ABOUT JONATHAN

Jonathan Palmer Lakeland is a British-American conductor, pianist/vocal coach, and producer, active across the global classical music and opera industries.

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As a conductor, Jonathan has collaborated with leading opera companies across Europe and North America. In May 2024, he led the debut of a new adaptation of Carmen at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, featuring additional music by GRAMMY Award-winning composer Andrew Yee. This production, conceived by Wu Tsang and Moved by the Motion, starred mezzo-soprano Katia Ledoux and tenor Ryan Capozzo. In 2022, he made his Vienna opera conducting debut with the Austrian premiere of Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin at Theater an der Wien, where he previously served as Studienleiter and répétiteur. Jonathan was also awarded the prestigious Billy Joel Fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Festival, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During his time there, he served as assistant conductor for Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place, as part of Tanglewood’s Bernstein centenary celebrations.

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As a vocal coach, Jonathan has prepared singers for recordings, broadcasts, and performances with renowned opera houses including the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Dutch National Opera, Glyndebourne, Opéra National de Paris, and Bayerische Staatsoper, and at Trinity Laban Conservatory in London. In addition to his freelance work, he is the Associate Director and Vocal Coach at the Georg Solti Accademia in Italy, where he teaches alongside the Accademia’s artistic director, Jonathan Papp, as well as distinguished musicians such as Maestro Richard Bonynge, Angela Gheorghiu, Barbara Frittoli, and Carlo Rizzi.

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An accomplished pianist, Jonathan has performed in recital with singers including Aigul Akhmetshina, Dame Felicity Lott, Inna Kalugina, Anush Hovhannisyan, Claire Barnett-Jones, and Olivia Warburton. He has appeared at prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, Salle Cortot (Paris), Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center), the Oxford Lieder Festival, and the Leeds Lieder Festival. His discography includes performances as piano soloist in Paul Mealor’s Stabat Mater on the album Serenity, as well as Living Voices, an album featuring works by James Whitbourn. He has also been featured in broadcasts on BBC Radio 4, PBS, and NPR/WWFM.

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Beyond performance, Jonathan is passionate about supporting his fellow musicians as a producer of classical music recordings, performances, and events. His production work has involved collaborations with institutions such as the University of Oxford, Naxos, and Westminster Choir College. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music, Georg Solti Accademia, Tanglewood Music Center, and Westminster Choir College.