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 works are designed to be authentic meditations. They concentrate on the collective awareness of an ensemble in the ways they breathe and communicate inside indeterminate structures. The musical situation is a means to make the practice of meditation audible and connect us, through our listening, to the peace and insight cultivated by this practice. It is an integral part of my own spiritual path of liberation."
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.