About

Jonathan Cziner (b. 1991) is an American composer whose music combines colorful harmony and texture with nostalgic lyricism, creating a sound-world that ranges from dark and mysterious to vibrant. His music has been praised for its "brilliant timbrel effects and contrasting moments of resonance and delicate filagree" (Theater Jones), “daring harmonic explorations” (Dallas Morning News) and “individual voice and the knowledge and technique to convey ideas in a striking and kaleidoscopic manner” (Chicago Classical Review).  Drawing on a wide variety of inspirations, Jonathan’s writing engages the senses and the emotions, fully immersing listeners in the musical experience.  

Jonathan's works have been performed throughout the United States by ensembles including the Minnesota Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and New Juilliard Ensemble, and by acclaimed artists including conductors Osmo Vänskä and David Robertson, cellist Julian Schwarz; harpist Emily Levin; violinist Stella Chen; and pianist Steven Masi among others. 

In addition to a 2018 Charles Ives Scholarship recipient from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Cziner has received numerous awards including the William Schuman Prize for most outstanding score at the BMI Student Composer Awards as well as two consecutive Palmer Dixon Prizes (2017 and 2018), awarded to the most outstanding work composed at the Juilliard School.

His work has been selected by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Cone Institute, Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra's Classical Evolve Competition, Juilliard Orchestra competition, among others. Jonathan heads the composition program of the Charles Ives Music Festival, which focuses its programming on the music of Ives, as well as other past and present American composers. Equally dedicated to film scoring, he has worked with writer/director Nora Unkel on numerous films including her first feature film, A Nightmare Wakes, now streaming on Shudder. 

Cziner was named Composer-in-Residence of the Illinois Philharmonic for their 2022-2023 season for which he composed three new works including his first symphony entitled Celestial Symphony. Recent and upcoming projects include Solaris, a work for Violin and Orchestra for Stella Chen, and Clarinet Concerto for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's principal clarinetist Gregory Raden. He received a Bachelor of Music degree at New York University and completed both his Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Justin Dello Joio.  Jonathan lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife Emily Levin, the Principal Harpist of the Dallas Symphony.