The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) is pleased to announce that Warren Jones, one of the field’s leading collaborative pianists, has joined the lineup of speakers for the organization’s 54^th National Conference in Chicago, July -12, 2016. Jones replaces Martin Katz, who withdrew as a program participant.

Warren Jones’ eclectic career has taken him to virtually every corner of the musical world. He performs with some of today’s best-known artists: Stephanie Blythe, Anthony Dean Griffey, Bo Skovhus, Eric Owens, John Relyea and Richard “Yongjae” O’Neill. He is the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Principal Pianist for the exciting Santa Barbara-based chamber music group Camerata Pacifica.

“NATS is happy to welcome Warren Jones to its 54^th National Conference.  His sessions will be enlightening, filled with depth of content, and will be infused with his infectious personality and warmth,” says Allen Henderson, NATS Executive Director.

Jones’ discography comprises more than 30 recordings on every major label in a wide range of repertory, and his conducting repertory is similarly varied: Jones has led sold-out critically acclaimed performances of Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz, Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Mozart’s Die Zauberfloete; and in 2014 he conducted the world premiere of a new operatic version of A Christmas Carol at the Houston Grand Opera. He returned to the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera for performances of Donizetti’s comedy Don Pasquale in the summer of 2015. In February 2016 he led an innovative new production of Menotti’s The Telephone and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti for Tri-Cities Opera. In the past, Jones has partnered with such great performers as Marilyn Horne, Håkan Hagegård, Kathleen Battle, Samuel Ramey, Christine Brewer, Barbara Bonney, Carol Vaness, Judith Blegen, Salvatore Licitra, Tatiana Troyanos, Thomas Hampson, James Morris and Martti Talvela.

He has been an invited guest at the White House to perform for state dinners in honor of the leaders of Canada, Russia and Italy. Three times he has been the invited guest of the Justices of the United States Supreme Court for musical afternoons in the East Conference Room at the Court.

A graduate of both the New England Conservatory and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Jones is a member of the faculty of Manhattan School of Music as well as the Music Academy of the West. He received the “Achievement Award” for 2011 from the Music Teachers National Association of America, their highest honor. In 2010, he was selected as “Collaborative Pianist of the Year” by the publication Musical America. Jones currently serves on the NEC Board of Visitors and has been honored with the Doctor of Music degree from SFCM.

For a complete list of Warren Jones’ engagements, recordings, reviews and more, visit www.warrenjones.com.

The biennial NATS National Conference attracts NATS members and others from around the world to share in programs, demonstrations, lectures, master classes and competitions that help celebrate the art of singing and increase knowledge of teachers to help them better assist their students. The 2016 conference, which takes place July 8-12, 2016, will be held at the Marriott Magnificent Mile in Chicago, a Windy City landmark on Michigan Avenue. Situated among world-class shopping and dining, this Chicago hotel is in walking distance of top attractions, including Navy Pier, American Girl Place, Millennium Park, Theater and Museum Districts. 

For more information about the 54^th NATS National Conference, visit www.nats.org/Chicago2016