Copy by Lori Thomas
May 22, 2000

Internationally Renowned Pianist Jon Nakamatsu
to Perform Benefit Recital at Foothill College

Editors & Reviewers: You are cordially invited to attend the 
recital.
For complimentary passes, call (650) 949-7268.

	Internationally renowned pianist Jon Nakamatsu returns to Foothill CollegeÑhis community college alma 
materÑto perform a benefit recital Sunday, June 25, at 3:30 p.m. in the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College 
in Los Altos Hills. Tickets for the concert are now on sale. 
	The winner of the 1997 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Nakamatsu will perform HaydnÕs 
Sonata No. 33 in C Minor; ChopinÕs Fantaisie in F Minor, Op. 49, Three Mazurkas, Op. 59, and Scherzo No. 3 
in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 39; TchaikovskyÕs Theme and Variation in F Major, Op. 19, No. 1; and RachmaninoffÕs 
Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 36. 
	Nakamatsu became the first American in 16 years to win gold at the prestigious Van Cliburn International 
Piano Competition in 1997. The international music community was startled at his victory as Mr. Nakamatsu, a 
musical unknown, was a high school German teacher from Mountain View. He finished the arduous three-week 
Van Cliburn competition by adeptly performing RachmaninoffÕs notoriously difficult Piano Concerto No. 3.
His reward was a two-year tour of the world, a fulfillment of his childhood dreams to become a world-
renown pianist. He has received rave reviews from cities throughout the United States and Europe. His schedule 
has included debut performances in New York CityÕs Carnegie Hall, Washington D.C.Õs John F. Kennedy 
Center for the Performing Arts as well as Boston, Chicago, London, Paris and Milan.  	- more -
Jon Nakamatsu in Recital at Foothill College 2-2-2-2
He has also performed with the Boston Pops, has been a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has 
been a featured soloist with orchestras in Dallas, Dayton, Detroit, Fort Worth, Honolulu, Milwaukee, Rochester, 
San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle. 
Named Debut Artist of the Year (1998) by NPRÕs Performance Today, he has made three recordings, two of 
which are available on the HARMONIA MUNDI label. He has been profiled by CBS Sunday Morning and ReaderÕs 
Digest magazine, and is featured in Playing with Fire, a PBS documentary about the 10th Van Cliburn 
International Piano Competition. A strong supporter of education, he was recently selected as one of four 
recipients nationwide to receive the 2000 Outstanding Alumni Award from the American Association of 
Community Colleges. The award is given annually to former students from community colleges who are 
making outstanding contributions in their chosen field and to their communities.
He has studied privately with Marina Derryberry since age 6, worked with Karl Ulrich Schnabel, and 
studied composition and orchestration with Dr. Leonard Stein of the Schoenberg Institute at the University of 
Southern California. He has also pursued extensive studies in chamber music and musicology. 
After completing two years of education at Foothill, he was accepted as a transfer student at Stanford 
University. He holds a bachelorÕs degree in German studies and masterÕs degree in education from Stanford. He 
will serve as the keynote speaker at FoothillÕs 40th Annual Commencement Ceremony June 23. During the 
graduation ceremony, Foothill College President Bernadine Chuck Fong, Ph.D., will confer the Foothill College 
Associate in Arts Degree in German to Nakamatsu; a degree he had earned before transferring to Stanford, but 
which he had not applied to receive.
Tickets are $50, general; $100, Gold Circle patron. Gold Circle patrons receive preferred seating and 
parking as well as passes to the reception for the artist following the performance.
To purchase tickets, call the Foothill College Box Office at (650) 948-4444.