Jonathan Morton
Name your favourite Scottish Ensemble collaboration and why?
20th-Century Perspectives with Toby Paterson in 2014. It was a turning point in Scottish Ensemble’s history, as it was the first time we explored the rich intersection of visual, sonic, and architectural spaces.
Name your favourite place to perform with Scottish Ensemble and why?
The candlelit churches we perform in every year in December always hit the spot for me. I think it’s the combination of atmosphere, history, people, and music.
Where is your favourite place to visit in Scotland?
Jura, because of wonderful friends who live there. Some years ago, when we arrived for a visit, their dog had just given birth to a litter. Our kids fell in love with a puppy, so we now have a Jura creature in our home!
If you could see Scottish Ensemble collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
It would have to be Chris Thile, as I can’t think of a performer alive today that I admire more. His many talents are truly off the scale.
Biography
Jonathan Morton is a violinist who enjoys collaborating with musicians and artists from different traditions.
He is Artistic Director at Scottish Ensemble, where his eclectic and engaging programming has been enthusiastically praised by audiences internationally, offering fresh perspectives on familiar repertoire and championing new works. Under his leadership Scottish Ensemble has been collaborating increasingly with other art forms such as dance, visual arts, & theatre.
Recent critically acclaimed projects include 20th Century Perspectives with artist Toby Paterson, Goldberg Variations with Andersson Dance and Anno with Anna Meredith & Eleanor Meredith.
Jonathan is also Principal First Violin at London Sinfonietta, where he has been given the opportunity to work closely with many of today’s leading composers and performers, including Steve Reich, Harrison Birtwistle, Mica Levi, Oliver Knussen, Marius Nesset, Tansy Davies, Jonny Greenwood, Louis Andriessen, Hannah Kendall, Martin Suckling, and Dai Fujikura.
Jonathan has been invited as a guest leader with groups such as BIT20 in Bergen, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia and Musikkollegium Winterthur. He is committed to sharing ideas with the next generation of string players and has directed projects at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the University of Auckland.
Jonathan regularly contributes to film & TV soundtracks at Abbey Road Studios and Air Lyndhurst Studios, where he has been leading studio orchestras for film composers including Dario Marianelli, Rael Jones, Benjamin Wallfisch, Daniel Pemberton, Patrick Doyle, Alex Heffes, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Christian Henson, Craig Armstrong, Frank Illfman, and Hauschka.
Jonathan also plays with the Colin Currie Group, with recent performances in Europe, the USA and Japan.