Jonathan Dexter

Cellist Jonathan Dexter enjoys a diverse career as a performer, recording artist, educator, and audio engineer. His work spans classical, crossover, film, television, and commercial music, and he has collaborated with Grammy Award-winning artists and producers across a wide range of genres. His performances have been featured on national television programs including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The View, VH1, Fox & Friends, and The Rachael Ray Show.

Equally comfortable in traditional classical settings and innovative cross-genre projects, Dexter has performed with ensembles ranging from chamber groups and orchestras to indie-pop and progressive rock productions. Since 2013, he has been a member of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, one of the nation's leading period-performance ensembles. His recordings with the orchestra include Irving Berlin: This Is the Life and America on the Move, the latter produced by seven-time Grammy Award-winning classical producer Judith Sherman.

In 2022, Dexter was a featured cellist on Antigone with the acclaimed Boston-based Lorelei Ensemble. Released by New Focus Recordings, the album was praised by Gramophone for its "stunning precision of harmony, intonation, and spectacular virtuosity."

As a recording artist, Dexter works from his Pennsylvania-based studio, providing string recordings for clients worldwide, including Sony Masterworks, Columbia Records, and Castle Rock Entertainment. He also contributed performances to Steven Spielberg's NBC series Smash and composed the score for the short film Recess, an official selection of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Dexter serves on the faculty of Penn State, where he teaches cello and oversees concert livestream production.

• MM, University of Texas, Austin
• Performance Certificate, Franz Liszt Academy\
• BM, Oberlin Conservatory