Jonathan Parapadakis
“Talented, fun and high energy,” Jonathan gets great joy from being a versatile musician and has a special interest in musical theatre which has seen him focus on woodwind doubling. He is equally comfortable on flute, clarinet and saxophone, and has recently added the oboe to his arsenal. As a true multi-instrumentalist, he has performed on more than 20 instruments, from keyboards in Kipps, to bass guitar in RENT, and even trombone in Chess.
Aged 3, Jonathan saw a saxophone at his sister’s music school and became transfixed. Twenty years later, he is still obsessed. He started with piano at age 6, then saxophone at age 8 (after a brief stint of baritone horn). Next came clarinet, then flute, percussion, oboe, and just about anything else he could get his hands on! His love for musical theatre was initially sparked by seeing Phantom of the Opera as a child; when he found out that theatre musicians get to play multiple instruments within the same show he was hooked.
Whilst studying Maths at Cambridge, Jonathan spent almost as much time performing as he did studying. Between 20+ theatre productions, a full-time function band, and countless other ensembles, his calendar was full and he loved every minute. After graduating with top grades, and at the recommendation of Paul Saunders (Wicked), Jonathan is currently studying for his Multi-Instrumental Woodwind Performance Master’s at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, with the support of their Leverhulme Arts Scholarship.
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