Jonathan Roozeman

“For me music was always just a very normal thing.”

A childhood spent in Finland amidst lakes and forests, always with his brother, often climbing trees – strong are the roots that connect Jonathan Roozeman to nature, and likewise to music, since both of his parents are musicians. Consequently, for him and his siblings alike, it was completely natural that he should learn an instrument. And since there happened to be no places available to start piano, at the age of six he took up the cello. The roots sprouted wings, and at just eleven years of age, Jonathan Roozeman embarked on his first concert tour. Today, he loves travelling. And cooking. And the forest, still. This is why he feels so at home in Kronberg. Nature gives him the peace he needs to focus fully on the music.

The Finnish-Dutch cellist Jonathan Roozeman, who was born in 1997, began his musical education as a junior student at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Professor Martti Rousi. In 2013 he was awarded a special prize at the Finnish National Cello Competition as well as at the 2013 International Paulo Cello Competition. Winning sixth prize in the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition – as the youngest participant ever – immediately resulted in an invitation to take part in a concert with the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Valeriy Gergiev. Jonathan Roozeman has also performed with the Jean Sibelius Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Virtuosi. In 2014 he toured China as a soloist with the Tapiola Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed at numerous international chamber music festivals.

Jonathan Roozeman plays a cello by David Tecchler from 1707, which is on loan to him by the Finnish Culture Foundation. He was supported by a scholarship from the arteMusica-Stiftung.

In 2014, 2016 and 2018 Jonathan Roozeman was an active participant at the Cello Masterclasses at Kronberg Academy, where he was awarded the Landgrave of Hesse Prize in 2016. Jonathan Roozeman performed alongside Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Steven Isserlis and Sir András Schiff in Chamber Music Connects the World in 2018. In 2019 he played at the Kronberg Academy Festival. From 2016 to 2020 he has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. These studies were funded by the Christa Verhein Stiftung.