Jonathan Gold is an American composer based in New York City. Originally from New Jersey, Jonathan's musical journey began as a drummer in heavy metal bands, but a transformative encounter with Morten Lauridsen's choral music led him to devote himself solely to composition when he was eighteen. He then studied music theory and counterpoint with his choir director and mentor, Austen Vallies.
While studying composition and choral conducting with Alla Cohen and Geneviève Leclaire at Berklee College of Music, Gold was profoundly influenced by the work of Arvo Pärt and Morton Feldman. He is currently a master's student at the Manhattan School of Music, studying composition with J. Mark Stambaugh.
Inspired by the work of Pauline Oliveros and Thich Nhat Hanh, Jonathan says, “My latest work is essentially meditation. It concentrates on the collective psychology of an ensemble in the ways they communicate inside indeterminate structures. Every person brings the conditions of their entire life with them to every moment. The musical situation is an invitation to sense the interdependence and inseparability of these conditions between many people. It is an opportunity to stop and look deeply into our whole experience, giving rise to insight and understanding, which in my view, is the basis of awakening.”
Orchestras, chamber ensembles, and choirs around New England and New York have performed Jonathan’s music, including at Berklee, Atlantic Music Festival, and Manhattan School of Music, as well as concerts by Airborne Extended, 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 Composition Competition, and an International Laureate for Most Distinguished Musician at the Ibla Grand Prize.