International concert pianist, alumnus Mamora returns as assistant professor

 

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – After claiming the top $20,000 prize on March 17 at one of the nation’s preeminent piano competitions, Jonathan Mamora boarded a flight along with other contestants coming out of the event, headed for Forth Worth, Texas. They would contend for a berth in the renowned Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious piano performance contests.

Jonathan Mamora wins first prize in the Hilton Head International Piano Competiiton in March. Left to right: HHIPC Director Steven Shaiman, Jonathan Mamora, HHIPC Jury Chair Simone Dinnerstein. (Photo: thefrenchguyphotography)

Jonathan Mamora wins first prize in the Hilton Head International Piano Competiiton in March. Left to right: HHIPC Director Steven Shaiman, Jonathan Mamora, HHIPC Jury Chair Simone Dinnerstein. (Photo: thefrenchguyphotography)

Jonathan Mamora performs in September 2024. (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Mamora)

Jonathan Mamora performs in September 2024. (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Mamora)

Jonathan Mamora, left, and his longtime piano teacher, mentor, and former music professor at La Sierra University, Dr. Elvin Rodriguez in 2016.

Jonathan Mamora, left, and his longtime piano teacher, mentor, and former music professor at La Sierra University, Dr. Elvin Rodriguez in 2016.

On April 9, Mamora landed among the final field of 30 pianists selected for the Van Cliburn – the extensive selection process had begun in October 2024 with 340 pianists from 45 countries. Competition performances take place between May 21 and June 7 in Texas, just weeks before Mamora and his wife, Stephanie, embark on a new chapter in their lives; effective July 1, Jonathan will begin his new role as an assistant professor of music and Director of Keyboard Studies at La Sierra University’s Department of Music.

"He will serve as a valued educator who guides and supports his students, and as an inspiration to all of us.” -- Dr. Christon Arthur, President, La Sierra University

Mamora, a 2017 graduate of La Sierra’s music program and a Loma Linda native is returning to his alma mater from Southwestern Adventist University where he began teaching last fall. A phone call from La Sierra University President Christon Arthur at the end of January served as an impetus for Mamora to consider a move back to Riverside.

“We are deeply honored that Jonathan is returning home to his alma mater to teach and mentor our music students,” Arthur continued. “His achievements on the world stage, his professional standing as an award-winning concert pianist and as a dedicated music educator are indicative of his commitment to his God-given calling. He will serve as a valued educator who guides and supports his students, and as an inspiration to all of us.”

For Jonathan, the idea of coming back to teach at La Sierra represented not only a return to California after eight years on the East Coast for graduate school followed by teaching at Southwestern, but to a university family and music faculty who had nurtured his abilities and confidence as a student and set him on his present successful career track. These include his longtime teacher and mentor Dr. Elvin Rodriguez, former music department chair and piano professor who taught Mamora between ages 12 and 22, as well as former keyboard studies professor Dr. Kimo Smith.

“I very much appreciated that President Arthur had taken time out of his day to call and express that he would like me to come back to La Sierra and teach there,” Mamora said, noting that a major attraction was the prospect of serving in the footsteps of Rodriguez, who not only honed Mamora’s professional development, but his growth as a values-based individual, and to build upon and grow such a legacy, “of being able to cultivate excellent students and musicians,” Mamora said.

Jonathan Mamora playing under Music Director John Morriss Russell with the Hilton HeadSymphony Orchestra in March. (Photo: thefrenchguyphotography)

Passing the torch

Mamora’s March 17 win of the 27thHilton Head International Piano Competition was the latest of 23 competitions he has entered since 2022, winning first place prizes for many including the Scottish International Piano Competition, the Concurs Internacional de Música Maria Canals Barcelona, the Dallas International Piano Competition, and the Palm Springs International Piano Competition.

In between contests he pursued graduate studies and has kept up a performance schedule on major stages, public venues and with top orchestras in France, Spain, Scotland, Portugal, New York, New Mexico, Florida and elsewhere around the nation and the world. His musical expressiveness and skill has been lauded in such publications as The Dallas Morning News which described his playing as “poetic” and “most assured pianism,” “natural, songful lyricism,” and “rippl[ing] through virtuosic passagework.”

Mamora brings his extensive skill and performance abilities to the classroom and studio where he hopes to incorporate what he has learned from his own professors including the renowned Hung-Kuan Chen at The Juilliard School from which Mamora earned a master’s degree, and Douglas Humpherys at the Eastman School of Music where he is a candidate for a doctoral degree.

“They both have the track record of students. Their pedagogy is very discerning, very demanding, but it's also what made them great teachers and also great pianists when they were full time pianists,” Mamora said. “

But the first and most holistically influential teacher was La Sierra’s Rodriguez with whom Mamora studied for 10 years. “He is a model for not just how [to] teach, but I think how one can be as a person as well,” Mamora said. “That was such a big part of why he always was able to bring students [to the university] because he lived his truth and his character and his values every day. And so students, every one of us in that department, looked up to him as the ultimate example.

"I could not find someone that we are more proud of [to] come home and be part of our faculty." -- Dr. Ariel Quintana, Chair, Department of Music

“And so I'm taking everything from all of them, really, and I've been able to figure out what works for me [while] recognizing that each student is different. I have the benefit of having different perspectives in the last 18-20 years,” Mamora said, adding that he will give his students the mentorship and instruction that his teachers have given to him.

“I aim to provide for the students at La Sierra, and for anyone who is wanting to come to La Sierra, a teacher that is not just able to teach well, but also [can] demonstrate directly how that teaching can manifest itself in the practice [of] music” and a musical career, he said.

Mamora cut his performance teeth at La Sierra University long before he enrolled as a student. He gave his first public performance at age 13 at the university, playing Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3.” The formidable “Piano Concerto No. 3” by Sergei Rachmaninoff which Mamora performed for the Hilton Head competition he had first played as an 18-year-old freshman at the university.

Mamora has also served as a church musician most of his life, has taught piano and music theory for various institutions, and often performs as a collaborative artist with other musicians.

“We are excited beyond words that Jonathan has accepted to be our new Director of Keyboard Studies at La Sierra University,” said choral studies director and Department of Music Chair Ariel Quintana. “Jonathan’s piano career skyrocketed since he graduated and we couldn’t be more proud of his trajectory.

“We, all [the] faculty, had the pleasure to have Jonathan as a student in one capacity or another and we all agree that there couldn’t be a better fit to fill this position,” Quintana said. “When his teacher Elvin Rodriguez retired, we immediately felt the need to find someone to fill the now empty shoes that he was leaving in our department. We are so happy to see Maestro Elvin Rodriguez passing the torch to his protegé, Jonathan Mamora. I could not find someone that we are more proud of [to] come home and be part of our faculty. Welcome back, Jonathan.”

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