Jonathan Schakel is a native of Holland, Michigan, where he began playing music at an early age. He studied piano with Thomas Gouwens and guitar with Paul Vondiziano, and later also took voice lessons with Drew Minter and Sally Sanford. After an undergraduate degree from Hope College (Holland, MI), he began organ studies in Boston with German organist Peter Kranefoed. He earned a master’s degree in organ and early music from Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA), studying organ and harpsichord with Peter Sykes and continuo with Frances Conover Fitch, and a DMA in performance practice from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), where he studied with David Yearsley and Annette Richards. He has pursued further studies with Lorenzo Ghielmi, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, and Olivier Latry, and has participated in the summer organ academies in Smarano, Italy; Haarlem, the Netherlands; and at McGill University in Montreal.
Jonathan has given organ recitals in many of the United States, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Germany, including performances at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival; Harvard University; Princeton University; Trinity Church, Boston; the Ludgerikirche, Norden, Germany; and St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. He also performs frequently in chamber concerts on harpsichord, fortepiano, and organ, often with his wife, soprano Megan Sharp. His editions of Renaissance vocal music have been performed in the US, England and Germany, and he serves as Artistic Director of the early music vocal ensemble, Zephyrus. Together he and Megan direct the music program at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he plays an organ in north German baroque style by Taylor & Boody Organbuilders.
Jonathan has given organ recitals in many of the United States, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Germany, including performances at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival; Harvard University; Princeton University; Trinity Church, Boston; the Ludgerikirche, Norden, Germany; and St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. He also performs frequently in chamber concerts on harpsichord, fortepiano, and organ, often with his wife, soprano Megan Sharp. His editions of Renaissance vocal music have been performed in the US, England and Germany, and he serves as Artistic Director of the early music vocal ensemble, Zephyrus. Together he and Megan direct the music program at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he plays an organ in north German baroque style by Taylor & Boody Organbuilders.