Jonathan Oh’s musical journey began at a young age, where he went through an extensive list of teachers because he couldn’t help being an insufferable brat to all of them. In the words of one of his former piano teachers: “He has no talent and will never be a musician.”
Following that ground-breaking statement, Jonathan has since established himself as one of Malaysia’s leading cellists, receiving acclaim for his active roles as a performer, educator, and curator. His switch from piano to cello began under the tutelage of Mr. Woon Wen Kin in Penang, Malaysia, before he furthered his studies under Mr. Nasran Nawi, Mr. Laurentiu Gherman and Mr. Simon Cobcroft. In 2003, as a scholar of the Chamber Music Festival and Academy of St Geniez, France, Jonathan had the opportunity to study with cellists Mr. Jean Marie Trotoreau and Mr. Florent Audibert. During his sojourn in France, he had the honour of working with renowned French cellist Madam Valerie Aimard.
Highly sought after for live performances as well as recordings, Jonathan has performed extensively with orchestras and chamber ensembles in the region. As an orchestral musician, Jonathan was Co-Principal Cellist at the Malaysian National Symphony Orchestra and was a founding member and Principal Cellist at the KLPAC Orchestra. He has performed with the ASEAN Symphony Orchestra, the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Penang State Symphony, the Kota Kinabalu Symphony Orchestra, and Kuching Simfoni Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Jonathan co-founded the Malaysian Piano Trio in 2003 and The Sutera Ensemble in 2015. He has also performed in chamber music concerts in
Italy and France.
Jonathan is also a passionate music educator, having established and tutored the award-winning youth string ensemble Arioso Sinfonia in Negeri Sembilan. He was appointed as cello tutor for the Permata Seni Muzik programme in 2010, and continues to teach privately in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru.
Jonathan released his first album “My Cellistic Journey” with pianist Ms. Angel Lee in September 2009, the proceeds of which went entirely to charity. Currently, Jonathan remains an active member of The Sutera Ensemble and holds the position of Artistic Director in the Euroasia Association of Performing Arts, as well as Artistic Curator of The Johor Classical Music Festival. He was recently appointed as the Regional Director of the International Relations Department for Thailand’s renowned, multiple award-winning youth orchestra Siam Sinfonietta in 2018.