Jonathan Parker

A native San Diegan from a pioneer California family, Jonathan has held a deep interest in traditional music and culture from an early age, and began attending Lark Camp in 1982. He plays a wide variety of musical instruments including the fiddle, tin whistle, mandolin, and various bagpipes. As a founding board member of the nonprofit organization San Diego Folk Heritage, he promoted and managed concerts, workshops, and festivals for many years. He has worked as a musician, actor, luthier, cabinetmaker, graphic artist, and arts administrator. Jonathan has studied and performed the traditional instrumental music of Ireland, England, Sweden, and Spain for more than four decades, and has played extensively for dancers and in many musical ensembles, including The Perfect Cure, The Boxty Band, The Gallowglass Collective, and The Racket Club. From 2014–24 he served as Director of the World Music in the Schools program for the Center for World Music, and is now a member of their board of directors.