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|  Biography Pianist, composer and teacher Jon Michael Iverson completed his Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton, NJ. While at Westminster he studied piano pedagogy with the top pedagogues in the field, including Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield, Dr. James Goldsworthy and Jean Stackhouse. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, where he studied piano with Katherine Faricy and theory, composition, and orchestration with Dr. James Callahan. As a pianist, Iverson performs regularly as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician around the Twin Cities area and has been heard with local Minnesota orchestras in performances of Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto ("Emperor") and the Liszt E-flat Piano Concerto. His private piano instructors have included Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, J. J. Penna, Katherine Faricy and Kenneth Huber; he has performed in numerous master classes with distinguished pianists and teachers including Seymour Bernstein and Paul Sheftel. As a composer, Iverson’s String Quartet No. 01 was featured on Essays of Note – a now syndicated Minnesota radio show hosted by Dr. William ‘Bill’ Banfield – on the program “Young Lions: Up and Coming Young Composers.” His Overture to an Unwritten Tragedy was premiered under the baton of Dr. Matthew George and his Prelude, Passacaglia and Recitative for solo violin and In Memoriam for solo viola have been taken on tour throughout Europe with English violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved. Iverson has also worked as a digital engraver, preparing musical works for print and publication. Having learned the extensive rules and history of music notation and typesetting, his portfolio includes numerous instrumental, chamber and orchestral works. In addition to musical compositions, Iverson has prepared musical examples for several publications, including the manuscript for Katherine Faricy’s Artistic Pedal Technique, now published by Frederick Harris. As a teacher, Iverson started teaching at the age of fourteen under the guidance of his mother, Mary Lou Iverson, NCTM. Shortly after being awarded first prize in the  Westminster graduate piano competition, he was granted a teaching position at the Westminster Conservatory and completed an intensive internship co-teaching Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield’s wunderkind. Iverson has served on faculty at the University of St. Thomas, his undergraduate alma mater, and is now teaching exclusively at the MacPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis, MN. At the age of 28, he had already been publically recognized as "an expert teacher" by Stuart MacPhail, the sole living relative of the founder of the prestigious MacPhail Center for Music. He has been described as a "natural-born teacher" and as one of "Minnesota's premiere young teachers." In addition to giving master classes, clinics, and workshops, Iverson is an active adjudicator for competitions, contests and festivals. His students regularly perform in recitals and events. Live Performance Videos | | Johann Sebastian Bach English Suite No. 2 in A minor, BWV 807 I. Prelude II. Allemande III. Courante IV. Sarabande V. Bourree I & II VI. Gigue
| | Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Opus 101 I. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung II. Lebhaft. Marchmassig III. Langsam und sehnsuchtvoll IV. Geschwinde, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entscholossenheit | | Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Opus 110 I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo II. Allegro molto III. Adagio ma non troppo IV. Fuga. Allegro ma non troppo - L'istesso tempo di Arioso - L'istesso tempo della Fuga poi a poi di nuovo vivente | | Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata for Piano and Cello No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 I. Adagio sostenuto e espressivo II. Allegro molto piu tosto presto III. Rondo: Allegro | Kristi Ahlberg, cello | Johannes Brahms Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35, Book 1 Theme. Variations I-VIII; X-VIX | | John Corigliano Fantasia on an Ostinato (1985) | | Sergei Rachmaninoff Etude in E-flat Major, Op. 33, No. 4 | | Maurice Ravel Alborada del gracioso (Aubade of the Jester) from Miroirs | | | Maurice Ravel La vallee des cloches (The Valley of the Bells) from Miroirs | | Frederic Rzewski The Days Fly By (1995) | |
Additional Performances | Astor Piazzolla "Etudés Tanguistiques"
II. Tempo Tango pesante.
Anxieux et rubato VI. Avec anxiété | The fabulous Julie Johnson, flute, and Jon Michael Iverson perform two tangos from “Etudés Tanguistiques" by Astor Piazzolla. This performance was given in Faculty Showcase Recital during April in the beautiful Antonello Hall at the MacPhail Center for Music. This set of six tangos was originally written for solo flute – someone other than Piazzolla wrote out a piano part. The extremely dark and somber first tango in this performance – which isn’t very tango-y at all – is followed up with the sixth tango in the collection. This last tango is more what you expect when you hear the words “Piazzolla” and “tango” in the same sentence. The first one, however, is not. | | Sergei Rachmaninoff Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 | Buried deep in the vault was this performance of Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” by saxophonist Hiroshi Iwama and pianist Jon Michael Iverson. This recital was the last performance given by this remarkable saxophonist before he headed off to the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music for more schooling. Performed at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN in the summer of 2003. | Oksana Bryn Legacy Recital Select Performances -- Songs by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Tos-Anatolsky | In March of 2008, the MacPhail Center for Music paid tribute to one of the longest tenured instructors, Oksana Bryn. Mrs. Bryn has a distinguished teaching career who has had students go on to perform internationally. This "Legacy Recital" invited current and former students to perform in honor of this notable figure in the Minnesota teaching community. Selections here include songs by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Kos-Anatolosky. Performed in Antonello Hall in the new MacPhail building in Minneapolis, MN. Jon Michael Iverson accompanies. | Jon Michael Iverson, composer Fantasy for Flute, Viola and Piano (2003) |
Linda Chatterton, flute Annette Caruthers, viola John Jensen, piano |
From the Vault
 Found deep within the recesses of Jon Michael Iverson's hard drive is this recording of his Prelude, Passacaglia, and Recitative for solo violin. First premiered in the fall of 2003 by Minnesota-based violinist James "Jimmy" Ricardo, this work has been performed throughout Europe by Englishman Peter Sheppard Skærved. The prelude - a soliliquy of sorts - opens the work with its quarter-step accidentals and portamento. Marked senza vibrato, the passacaglia starts with a dry and stoic statement; one by one, a new voice enters atop the bassline, each with their own compositional device: one voice utilizes glissandi, another is marked sul ponticello, another is played jeté, and yet another is in artificial harmonics. The passacaglia culminates in a five voice texture of violinistic pyrotechnics only to be followed by the tranquil and peaceful recitative.
Question Marks Marx
No, this isn't a discussion of European intellectual history; it's a piece based on the Marx Brothers! This spring, composer Sarah Miller and Jon Michael Iverson premiered this piece that was co-written by Miller herself and composer Billy Fox. A piece for two pianos, "Question Marx" was comissioned by the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, MN, and is based on the colorful characters of the Marx Brothers movies: Groucho, Chico and Harpo. The dignified entrance of Margaret DuMont at the beginning is interrupted repeatedly by Groucho; Chico and Harpo make their respective appearances. It should be duly noted that Chico's appearance is particularly cool.
Web Exclusive Recording
Hear Jon Michael Iverson's recordings of four pieces by Japanese composer Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953). These selections come from a collection of seven books of suites entitled Pleiades Dances. As Yoshimatsu describes them, "these new pieces, written on the subjects of the seven stars of the Pleiades, the seven colors of the rainbow,  the seven tones of various modes, the seven rhythms from triple time to nonuple and so forth, are the results of my attempt to create 'a new form of preludes for the modern piano.' " Recorded selections include: 1) "Apple Seed Dance," from Book 1, Op. 27 (1986) 2) "Fragmentary Dance," from Book 2, Op. 28 (1987) 3) "Dance Toward East," from Book 4, Op. 50 (1992) 4) "Season of Alleluia," from Book 4, Op. 50 (1992)
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