Martin David Jones, DMA

Performances

 

Martin David Jones is Professor of Music at Augusta University where he teaches piano, composition, theory, and conducting.

Martin David Jones enjoys a multi-faceted career as a composer, conductor, and international prize-winning pianist and recording artist.  As a pianist he has been a featured performer in recital and with orchestra throughout the United States. His appearances at major musical centers include Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Dame Myra Hess Recital Series in Chicago, Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, South Carolina, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, and Gindi Auditorium in Los Angeles. Dr. Jones has performed extensively in Washington, D.C. including solo recitals at the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection. As a soloist with orchestra, Dr. Jones has been featured in performances of over 20 different piano concerti.  He has been soloist with the Augusta University Orchestra, the AU Wind Ensemble, the Augusta Symphony, the Ureuk Symphony Orchestra (New York), the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, the La Crosse Symphony, the Columbia Orchestra of Maryland, the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gwinnett Philharmonic Orchestra, the Columbia County Orchestra, the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra of Atlanta, and the Frederick Symphony Orchestra. Other performances and engagements include the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, the Schubert Club in Minneapolis, and the Elvehjem Museum in Madison.

Dr. Jones recently released his new compact disc “French Music for Four Hands” (2023) on the Centaur Records label.  This disc features Jones collaborating with Dr. Clara Park in works of Saint-Saens, Ravel, Caplet, Milhaud, and Poulenc.  His compact disc, the “Piano Music of André Previn” (2003), released on the Centaur Records label, was described as a disc that "fans of Previn the composer won't want to miss" by ClassicsToday.com, and "pianistically flawless" by Fono Forum.  In 2018, he released his compact disc of the “Piano Music of Friedrich Gulda” on the Naxos Grand Piano Label.  MusicWeb International stated that  the “performances are adroit and convincing”, Classical-Modern Music Review wrote that “Martin David Jones handles performance duties with sympathy, charm and a musicality that is heartening”, and Gramophone wrote that “’Light my fire’ can easily overpower the theme’s modest dimensions, yet pianist Martin David Jones resists the easy temptation to overbuild, interweaving the notated and improvised variations with unpressured unity.”  Gramophone also commented on “his strong improvising”. 

Dr. Jones has received critical acclaim for his concerts. The Indianapolis News described him as having "absolutely knocked the socks off Balakirev's `Islamey' widely considered one of the most difficult works ever written for the piano." And the Washington Post called his "technique meticulous, his musicianship powerful and his inclinations poetic." Competitive recognition has been equally enthusiastic. Dr. Jones has been the recipient of the Yamaha prize at the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition, and Laureate Finalist at the American Pianists Association Beethoven Fellowship Competition. Dr. Jones' concerts have shown a commitment to music of our time. Included among his contemporary music performances are the world premieres of The Prayer of St. Francis by Libby Larsen, Largo for Solo Piano by Michael Nathaniel Hersch, and the Washington premiere of China Gates by John Adams.

Dr. Jones is an active collaborative artist.  He has performed with ensembles including the Artaria Quartet of Boston, the Magellan String Quartet, and the Vega Quartet.  He and his duo partner, Dr. Clara Park, have performed four-hand and two-piano concerts throughout the United States and have been performed with orchestra in concertos of Bach, Mozart, Saint-Saens, and Poulenc.  Their recent compact disc “French Music for Four Hands” (2023) on the Centaur label has received rave reviews.  Fanfare Magazine stated that “the playing here is superb”….This is a highly recommended release”.  And the American Record Guide wrote “Kudos are due to Jones and Park for showing us how effective 4 hands at one piano can be…..Their ensemble seems naturally perfect”.  As a member of Trio Augusta (with faculty members Dr. Angela Morgan and Dr. Christine Crookall), he has performed at AU as well as concerts at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta and the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference in Savannah.

As a composer, Dr. Jones has created music in a variety of genres including solo piano, chamber music, symphonic, and film music.  His “Echoes from the South for Two Harps” received its premiere at the American Harp Society annual conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (2022).  The composition was the result of a composition grant from the AHS.   His “Lady Meng Jiang Poem” (March 2019) for Dizi Flute, Guzheng and String Orchestra was premiered by Yang Liu, Li Can and the Corelli Camerata.   His composition, “Blue Elegy” for Jazz Trombone and String Orchestra (December 2016), was premiered by the Augusta University Orchestra with Wycliffe Gordon as soloist.  In 2003 his “Suspended Journey” for Piano Trio was premiered at the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference in Savannah. In 2005 he was the commissioned composer for the Georgia Music Teachers Association Conference at West Georgia College in Carrolton. At the conference his "Jazz Sonatina - New Orleans Reborn" received its world premiere. He recently composed music scores for “Ensorcelled” and the Telly Award winning “Augusta Gives Back to the Future”, short films that were both directed by Tim Johnson.  He has composed three works that have been premiered by the Augusta Concert Band as well as a musical theater piece for Crossbridge Baptist Church.  His compositions and arrangements can be found at JW Pepper. 

Dr. Jones was Music Director of the Augusta University Orchestra from 2005-2017.  During his tenure as director, the orchestra became a visible statewide presence. The AU Orchestra appeared as a featured ensemble during the 2010 Georgia Music Teachers Association conference and performed concerts at the Westobou Festival in 2012 and 2014.  Jones established a chamber orchestra component which included performances in the greater Augusta area. He expanded the ensemble’s repertoire to include regular performances of complete symphonies and diversified the repertoire to include contemporary composers such as Michael Torke, Arvo Pärt, Sean Beeson, and André Previn, as well as black composers such as Scott Joplin, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and George Walker.  In 2012 Dr. Jones conducted the world premiere of Wycliffe Gordon’s “ASU – Here and Now” for Orchestra, Choir, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Band.  He and the AU Orchestra also collaborated with concert pianist and NPR “From the Top” host Christopher O’Riley, performing the Grieg Piano Concerto.   He is currently Music Director and Conductor of the Corelli Camerata, a chamber orchestra he founded that makes its home in the Augusta region.  His guest conducting appearances include the North Georgia Chamber Symphony, the Columbia County Orchestra, and the Viterbo College Orchestra.  He has directed performances of the Magic Flute, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Orpheus in the Underworld, Vivaldi’s “Gloria”, Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”, and Handel’s Messiah. He was the conductor of the Greater Augusta Youth Orchestra from 1999-2005.

Dr. Jones has been a frequent presenter at national conferences including Music Teachers National Association, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, the American Harp Society, the College Music Society, and the American Liszt Society.  Internationally he has presented at ANPPOM (The Brazilian National Association of Graduate Programs in Music).  He has presented numerous times at both the Georgia Music Teachers Association and the Georgia Music Educators Association.  He has also been a featured guest artist at the Music Teachers Association of California's annual convention.  Dr. Jones’ piano students have won top prizes at both Georgia Music Teachers Association Auditions and Georgia Music Educators Association Auditions.  He also has award winning composition students.

Dr. Jones has Master and Doctoral degrees in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.   He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Northridge.  His teachers include Julian Martin, Charles Fierro, Paul Schenly, and Earle Voorhies.