FROM SEATTLE TO ORLANDO, NEW ORLEANS, EUROPE & BEYOND
Jon Persson began a while back, as one of Seattle's most versatile musicians, specializing in three different instruments. He then spent years in Orlando's DisneyWorld, and New Orleans' French Quarter, providing him with opportunities to appear at concerts, theme parks, hotels, restaurants, private parties, and numerous other types of events.
A Variety of Venues:
CRUISE SHIPS: He has appeared aboard 35 ships, on a dozen top-tier cruise lines traveling to over 100 countries. Whether as a cabaret performer or a classical artist, as soloist or in ensembles, he has entertained North American, British, Argentinian, Brazilian, Japanese, and Chinese audiences, just to name a few.
THEME PARKS: Taking time off from ships, Jon Persson was a featured performer for 3 years at WALT DISNEY WORLD / EPCOT. And when not doing cruise ships and theme parks (Universal Studios Orlando as well), there have been concert venues, performing both as a soloist, and as an ensemble player. These appearances were often shared with classical musicians and opera singers. A large share of time has also been devoted to collaborating with Russian, Gypsy, Scandinavian, and other international folkloric music/dance ensembles.
CONCERTS, PRIVATE PARTIES, RESTAURANTS, SKI RESORTS & MORE: Family-friendly, age-appropriate entertainment can be difficult to find these days. Whether playing solo, or combined with virtuoso singers or string ensembles, he provides musical entertainment for many types of events: community concerts, classical concerts, seniors programs, festivals, wine tastings, art galleries, restaurant fine-dining, wedding receptions, funerals, birthday & anniversary celebrations, and more.
One Man, Three Instruments:
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PIANO
- no explanation needed, is there?
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TWO different types of ACCORDION
- (a) one with a piano keyboard, known as the "piano-accordion", and
- (b) the other with a European button-system keyboard, known as the "chromatic system accordion". The Russian version of this is called the "bayan". Playing all of them equally well, he is able to incorporate each or all of them into any situation, suitable for that special occasion, with styles ranging from jazz to classical to international ethnic genres.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Cruise Ships
- SEABOURN CRUISE LINE - Pride WORLD'S MOST HIGHLY RATED SMALL CRUISE SHIP by Conde Nast - (2 contracts)
- CUNARD LINE - Sagafjord WORLD'S MOST HIGHLY RATED LARGE CRUISE SHIP, 5+ STARS - (2 contracts) (World Cruise)
- NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE (NCL) - S/S Norway WORLD'S MOST HIGHLY RATED LARGE CRUISE SHIP - (2 contracts), Dreamward (aka Norwegian Dream)
- PRINCESS CRUISES - Enchanted Princess, Regal I & II, Grand, Ocean I & II, Royal I (World Cruise) & II, Golden, Island II, Dawn, Diamond, Caribbean, Crown II, Sun (all-Japanese World Cruise), Emerald, Star, Coral, Pacific II, Sea, Ruby, Sapphire (Multiple contracts on several ships)
- ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL - Vision of the Seas (2 contracts), Enchantment of the Seas
- HOLLAND AMERICA LINE - Statendam IV, Rotterdam V, Statendam V
- CELEBRITY CRUISES - Millennium
- COSTA CRUISES - Eugenio Costa
- JAPAN CRUISE LINE - Pacific Venus (all-Japanese World Cruise)
- AMERICAN WEST RIVER CRUISES - Queen of the West
- IVARAN LINE - Americana - (2 contracts)
- MAJESTY CRUISE LINE - Royal Majesty
- SCOTIA CRUISES - Scotia Prince
Theme Parks
- Walt Disney World / EPCOT (4 years)
- Universal Studios - Portofino Hotel - Mamma Della's Ristorante
Musical Theatre
- "The January Book" by Scott Warrender - Issaquah Village Theatre, Seattle, Washington
- "The Polish Diva From Milwaukee" by Terry Palasz - Crepe de Paris Cabaret, Seattle, Washington
- "The Three-Penny Opera" by Kurt Weill and Bertholt Brecht - The Skid Road Show, Seattle, Washington
- "Irma LaDouce" by Billy Wilder (Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort) - Driftwood Theatre, Seattle, Washington
Concert Tours
- Multiple tours of U.S.A., Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, England (solo, or with folkloric ensembles)