Interview
What do you need to feel at home whilst on tour?
Good coffee, time and space to practice, and a body of water close by (preferably the ocean!).
What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
Often for us brass musicians the most difficult thing is not just playing the right notes, but playing them at the right time! Waiting and counting all of the bars of rest is often more exhausting than playing itself.
What is the best thing about being a musician?
Being able to travel the world, and meet and inspire people from so many different cultures and backgrounds.
What do you do before a performance?
Not much! And this is the key for me. I like to be relaxed and stress-free before a concert, so I will always turn up early to warm up and change, with time to find a quiet corner and enjoy the calm before the storm!
The first piece of music you fell in love with?
One of my earliest musical memories is being enchanted by Resphigi’s ‘Pini di Roma’ in the Disney film Fantasia 2000. Even still now, the animated Whales leave me in awe!
Biography
Jonathon Ramsay, born in Sydney, Australia, moved his life halfway around the world to Berlin, Germany to pursue his musical career in Europe. In 2018, he partook in the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker as a student of Olaf Ott. Since finishing the academy in 2021, he has become an in-demand trombonist in the Berlin and wider European musical scene, performing regularly as a guest with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Berlin, London Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg.
Winner of the First Prize at the 2019 Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments and the same at the 2019 Concorso Internazionale “Città di Porcia”, he is also an active soloist having performed with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, the Göttinger Symphonieorchester, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Jonathon furthermore enjoys playing as a guest in various Chamber Ensembles, including German Brass, the Brass Ensemble of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Brass Ensemble of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, 10 for Brass, Salaputia Brass, and Ensemble Mini.
Before moving to Europe, he was the Principal Trombone of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, a position he won whilst only 20 years old. He began his studies prior to this at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Scott Kinmont (Sydney Symphony Orchestra). During his time “Down Under” he also performed regularly with the Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras.
Since April 2022, Jonathon has been a permanent member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Münchner Philharmoniker.