Jonathan Karoly

Cello

Member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1997

Cellist Jonathan Karoly is a native of Chicago, where he began studying the cello at the age of three.

He has been a prize-winning cellist, pianist, and composer from an early age. Following his studies in Chicago and New York, Karoly graduated from the University of Southern California, where he was a pupil of Ronald Leonard. An avid chamber musician, Karoly has performed in many music festivals: Marlboro, Kingston, La Jolla Summerfest, Verbier, Sarasota, Music Academy of the West, the International Laureates Chamber Music Festival, and Aspen, where he was a fellowship recipient. He has also been a frequent performer on Musicians from Marlboro tours across the country, and was invited to perform several concerts of chamber works with Pierre Boulez at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Karoly has appeared in live radio broadcasts of solo recitals and chamber music performances.

An accomplished competition winner, Karoly took grand prize in the Pasadena Instrumental Competition and first prize in the Chicago Cello Society Competition. He has performed concertos with numerous orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has been principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles, among others. In 2009, Karoly was the featured performer and actor in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Symphonies for Youth program entitled The Spirit of the Cello, which told a fictional story about Karoly’s cello. These performances were repeated in 2016.

Karoly’s latest endeavor has been the creation of Impromptu Concerts, a chamber music series held at private homes and venues in the Los Angeles area. These concerts feature a fantastic array of musicians performing in intimate settings that enhance the music-making experience for the audience and performers.

Karoly performs on a Benning cello made in 2000 as well as a French cello from 1750. He is a Larsen Strings Artist, and uses these strings exclusively. Karoly has been a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1997.