Rising star of the cello Jonathan Swensen recently was awarded joint First Prize at the prestigious 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition, is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was featured as Musical America’s ‘New Artist of the Month’ and ‘One to Watch’ in Gramophone Magazine. Jonathan fell in love with the cello upon hearing the Elgar Concerto at the age of six, and ultimately made his concerto debut performing the work with Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música.  

Jonathan has performed with orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Symphony, and the Greenville Symphony. He made his critically acclaimed recital debuts at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, the Morgan Library and Museum, and the Krannert Center.