Jonathan Haas is known worldwide as a soloist, orchestral timpanist, percussionist, conductor, teacher, clinician, and entrepreneur. He has garnered international acclaim for his performances of Philip Glass’s Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, which he commissioned and has performed seventy times worldwide with numerous top orchestras. Mr. Haas is principal percussionist of the American Symphony Orchestra, principal timpanist of the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, principal timpanist of the Aspen Chamber Symphony, percussionist of the American Composers Orchestra, and president of Gemini Music Productions, the largest employer of musicians in New York.
Haas is a Professor of Music, Director of Percussion Studies, Co-Director of the orchestra program and conductor of the Contemporary Music Ensemble at New York University and teaches at the Juilliard Pre-College Division, conductor of the JPC Percussion Ensemble, and conductor of the Aspen Percussion Ensemble. Mr. Haas has performed and recorded with Emerson Lake and Palmer, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Who and the Grammy Award winning Zappa’s Universe, and many others. In his quest to showcase the timpani in unusual musical settings, Haas is known for his Hot Jazz Timpani performances, highlighting an unusual instrumental combination with his nine-piece Latin/jazz ensemble Johnny H. And The Prisoners of Swing. Haas is the author of a ground breaking timpani method book, Jazz Virtuostics for Timpani distributed by Bachovich publications.
