JoNell & Stephen Aron
JoNell Aron has a youthful quality and crystal clear diction; Stephen Aron plays with vitality and wit.Classical Guitar
Exceptional and appealing.The Rag Times
Biography
JoNell and Stephen Aron have been performing together since 1994. Their mutual interest in the music of America’s past has led them to revive numerous works from the period, in new guitar arrangements, for contemporary performance. Their repertoire emphasizes music from 1890 to 1935, and features sentimental ballads, ragtime songs, novelty songs, early jazz ballads, Hawaiian and Latin music, early Broadway and vaudeville numbers, songs from the first motion pictures, and selections from early American operettas. Mr. Aron’s guitar accompaniments, all original arrangements, are reminiscent at times of the bordello piano, the banjo, the jazz band, the parlor orchestra, even the ukelele.
Aron and Aron have performed on chamber music series and at universities across the United States. They have also been featured on concert series in both Italy and France.
Of the duo’s first recording, Shine On Harvest Moon, (Pavonia Music), Fanfare Magazine said it is “warmly recommended,” and Classical Guitar Magazine said “JoNell Aron has a youthful quality and crystal clear diction; Stephen Aron plays well with vitality and wit. This CD will obviously have strong appeal.” The Rag Times felt that it was “exceptional and appealing: get this delightful CD.” In addition to Shine On Harvest Moon, the Aron released a second CD on Pavonia Music, of sacred works, entitled In My Heart. Of In My Heart, Soundboard magazine stated “there are many reasons to like this superbly produced CD...it is one of the best discs to cross my desk.” In My Heart features original arrangements of many popular Christian songs and spirituals as well as several uplifting guitar solos.
The duo’s concert performances have been hailed as “beautiful, thrilling, and spectacular;” JoNell’s voice as “magical, sunny and soothing” Charleston, South Carolina, Post and Courier; and Stephen as “one of America’s foremost guitarists” Guitar Player Magazine.
JoNell Aron
JoNell Aron has been heard in performance in venues throughout the United States and, increasingly, in Europe. Her renditions of sacred music are in high demand; she has toured as a soloist at churches on numerous occasions. Her performances, both here and abroad, and recordings with Aron and Aron have earned her numerous critical accolades.
JoNell has sung several operatic roles, including the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, and Micaela in Carmen. In addition to her performance activities, JoNell has taught music to grades kindergarten though twelve since 1989 in Ohio public and private schools. Currently, she is music instructor in the Madison Schools in Mansfield.
Stephen Aron
Described by the New York Times as “cultivated and musical,” Stephen Aron performs regularly throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. An avid arranger, his work is published by Tuscany Editions (“wonderful guitaristic arrangement,” American Music Teacher), Mel Bay Publications (“historic,” Guitart), and Clear Note Publications (“a book to be ignored at your peril,” Classical Guitar). Clear Note also recently published several of Mr. Aron’s original compositions (“imaginative, adventurous, effortlessly entertaining,” Classical Guitar). Aron’s recordings have been described as “stunning” Guitar Review, “superbly produced” Soundboard, “warmly recommended” Fanfare and “inspired” Classical Guitar. His recordings and publications of “thirty Lieder ohne Worte” by Felix Mendelssohn and “51 Mazurkas of Frederic Chopin,” both for solo guitar, were industry firsts.
Aron has adjudicated numerous competitions and has been a repeat guest, giving performances, lectures, and master classes at Guitar Foundation of America Conventions, Stetson Guitar Workshops, Portland Guitar Festivals, Eastman Guitar Festivals, Rantucci Guitar Festivals, Alexandria Guitar Festivals, the National Summer Guitar Workshops, the Eastern Carolina University Guitar Festivals, and Appalachian Guitar Festivals, as well as at the Yale Guitar Extravaganza, the Ithaca College Winter Guitar Festival, the Eastern Tennessee Guitar Festival, the New York Guitar Seminar, the Austin Peay Guitar Festival, and others.
In addition to his post as Professor of Music and Chairman of Guitar Studies at the University of Akron, Stephen Aron is Teacher of Guitar and founder of the classical guitar studies program at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.