Jonathan Gold (b. 2001) is an American composer based in New York City. Originally from New Jersey, Jonathan's musical life began as a drummer and bass player. After discovering sacred choral music at the age of eighteen, he devoted himself solely to composition. He took his first lessons in music theory and counterpoint with his choir director, Austen Vallies.
He studied composition and choral conducting with Alla Cohen and Geneviève Leclaire at Berklee College of Music, where he was introduced to the music of Arvo Pärt and Morton Feldman. During this time, Jonathan began developing his own compositional language based on his study of Medieval music and the American post-war avant-garde. He continued his compositional studies with J. Mark Stambaugh at Manhattan School of Music, experimenting with his own unique form of sonic meditation and exploring the reduction and deconstruction of his compositional practice, partially influenced by his discovery of composers such as Alvin Lucier and Jürg Frey. It was during his graduate studies that Jonathan began practicing Vietnamese Zen Buddhism, which deeply guides his current artistic direction.
He has since been exploring the intersection of determinacy/indeterminacy in his compositions, using strict rules and formulas to build musical structures, and working with simplified notation and practical limitations to derive a natural sense of time and nuance from performers' biological rhythms and impulses. His recent works tend to focus on the psycho-physiological effects of meditative awareness within musical stasis, resulting in extended unfoldings of circular patterns with observable subtle, organic inconsistencies arising from prolonged concentration and stillness. The performances of his music are spaces where both performer and audience can achieve closeness and deep connection to their inner/outer world.
Orchestras, chamber ensembles, and choirs around New England, New York, and Europe have performed Jonathan’s music, including at Berklee, Atlantic Music Festival, and Manhattan School of Music, as well as concerts by Airborne Extended in Austria, Crepusculum Choir, and the Berklee and Boston Conservatory Chamber Singers. His works have received national and international recognition, including a second prize and special prizes for best free composition and best religious vocal music at the International Antonín Dvorák Composition Competition, a second prize at the MTNA Young Artist Composition Competition, a national semi-finalist at the American Prize, and an International Laureate for Most Distinguished Musician at the Ibla Grand Prize.