_English Version

Die Pianistin Lara Anne Jones, geb. 1978 in Durban, gab als Elfjährige ihr Debüt mit dem Natal Philharmonic Orchestra Durban, wurde so die jüngste Solopianistin Südafrikas und gastiert seitdem regelmäßig auch mit den dortigen Orchestern.

Nach dem Tod ihrer Lehrerin Ethel Kerkins Tod im Jahre 1991 studierte Lara Jones bei dem englischen Dirigenten David Tidboald.

1998 zog Lara zum Studium nach Köln und wurde an der Musikhochschule von Prof. Roswitha Gediga unterrichtet, bei der sie 2003 ihre Reifeprüfung mit Prädikat und 2006 ihr Konzertexamen ablegte.
Nach einem Zusatzstudium bei Professor Jürgen Glauss für Liedbegleitung ist sie an der Kölner Musikhochschule in diesem Fach als Dozentin tätig.

Als Kammermusikpartnerin bekannter Solisten und fester Liedbegleiterin namhafter SängerInnen wie Hannah Morrison und Miljenko Turk kann man Lara Jones auch oft in ihrem eigenen Veranstaltungsort, dem Studio 22 in Köln-Deutz, hören.

„Dass jede Szene mit den ersten Takten Kontur und Atmosphäre besaß, das schaffte Turks junge Klavierpartnerin Lara Jones. Die aus Südafrika stammende Pianistin war eine Entdeckung in diesem WDR-Konzert „Ein Abend mit Tönen und Texten“ (MK, Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 28.1.2008)

SvI, 2009

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Lara Jones was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1978. She was the last pupil of Ethel Kerkin, for many years the doyenne of South Africa's piano teachers. On Miss Kerkin´s death (in 1991), and at her suggestion, Lara continued her studies in South Africa under British-born conductor David Tidboald.
Lara made her orchestral debut with the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban at the age of eleven and became the youngest soloist to perform in South Africa.
At the age of 14, she appeared as a fully-fledged soloist in Howard Ferguson´s Piano Concerto and in the following year she played Mozart´s Concerto in E Flat Major KV 271, a performance that was televised and repeated with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra in April 1994. Subsequently she has performed the Mozart D minor Concerto, the Mozart C Major Concerto and Schumann´s Introduction and Allegro Appassionata opus.92 under the direction of the American conductor Sidney Harth.
In May 1997 Lara performed Chopin´s first Piano Concerto in E minor with the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and in July 1997 participated as soloist in Cape Town´s Mozart Festival with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. Subsequent solo performances in South Africa have included Chopin's second Piano Concerto (in 1998) and Ravel´s Piano Concerto in G Major.

In April 2001 Lara made her European Debut playing Chopin´s first Piano Concerto in a series of three concerts in the south of Germany with the Schwäbisches Jugendsinfonie-Orchester under Maestro Christian Pyhrr. In July of the same year, she performed Mozart´s A Major Piano Concerto K488 in Bad Wiessee, Germany and repeated this work with the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in September of the same year.

Apart from Lara´s many solo performances, she has also worked together with other musicians: In 2000, Lara toured Poland and Norway with the German soprano Josephine Pilars de Pilar, performing Lieder and Opera arias. In South Africa, she has also taken part in chamber music evenings with various other South African musicians.
In November 2003, apart from various solo recitals, Lara performed Mozart´s B Flat Major Piano Concerto with the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of American-based conductor Leslie Dunner and one year later Mozart's C-moll-concert with the same orchestra and conductor. Other engagements included Chopin's second piano concerto in Nürnberg under the baton of Maestro Norman Widjaja from Malaysia.
In 2003 and 2004, Lara accompanied the well-known German tenor Christoph Genz on a tour through Namibia and South Africa with Schubert's Winterreise and other songs.
Lara has attended a number of master classes in Spain with the world renowned pianist, Alicia de Larrocha.
From 1999 to 2004, Lara studied under the Polish Professor Roswitha Gediga at the Hochschule für Musik in Köln where she recently obtained her masters in Piano Performance with distinction and is now one of three pianists from all over the world invited to sit for the prestigious Konzertexam in Köln (summer 2005).

SvI, 2004

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