Born in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California in 1967, Jon inherited a profound love of music from both of his parents, who were musicians of great ability. Jon's dad was classically trained and taught and directed music, and his mom had a wealth of old western and traditional tunes which she played on the piano while singing the words from memory. Jon grew up listening to the Sons of the Pioneers and to old hymns and folk music. His family, including his four siblings, often stayed up late into the night with big sing-outs and jam sessions.

     Jon was the youngest of five children, and everyone was a musician and artist. He started out by "conducting" the music his mom played, standing on a table or chair. He began inventing strange instruments in childhood, which he would then learn to play. At the age of 14, Jon developed a strong interest in the stringed harp. Harps were rare and very expensive, and his family was extremely poor, so he made his own harp. He went on to build about twelve in all, including the big concert harp that he has used all through the years.

     Throughout his life, Jon has continued to build and restore musical instruments, and has learned how to play over ten different kinds. He is mostly self-taught, although he has amassed ten year's worth of formal training in fiddle, piano, organ and music theory. He attended community college, where he graduated with a degree in art and music in 1993, and briefly attended two universities. He has taught both music and art since 1989.

     Stylistically, Jon's music combines many influences, including early American folk style, classical, Celtic, Native American and Oriental. He likes pure, lovely melody with little if any background but with abundant close harmony. In both his performances and recordings, Jon strives for variety, alternating instruments, keys and speeds so that he can keep the listener spell-bound.

     Jon has been inspired by many great musicians including his parents, by artists like Coyote Oldman, Arvel Bird and his musical associate Eric Ray. He loves all of the recordings of the Sons of the Pioneers. He owes much to Dawn McConnell, his former Irish fiddle instructor. And he adores good ol' Hillbilly music (Ha!).

     Jon has just finished his fourth album, to be released May 1, 2008. This latest album, Echoes of Zion, includes Jon's newest compositions, played on nine different instruments. It has a Native American theme, and features a variety of pieces for flute, harp, fiddle and musical saw. Jon's previous albums include "Enchanted Christmas" (released in December, 2007) and two solo harp albums, "Thera of the Emerald Waves" and "Flight of the Egret." Jon is currently working on an album of harmonized traditional slow Irish airs, and with Eric Ray on a collaborative album.  These albums will be released in 2009.  Much of his recording work is done at Weston House Recording Studio, in Sacramento, California (run by Weston Ray, Eric Ray's son and a superb recording engineer).

     Over the years, Jon has given numerous concerts and performances, mostly in Northern California. He has been featured in numerous newspapers and on television. In June, 2008 he will be performing with Eric Ray at the Zion International Flute Festival in Utah, where he will debut his latest album. "Echoes of Zion," the first song on his new album, is dedicated to Zion National Park.