Cellist, Teacher, Creator
With extensive, varied experience as a performer, teacher, and researcher who has lived throughout North America, if it’s cello-related, Jason has probably done it.
Bio
Described as a “true talent" by Christophe Huss of Montreal's Le Devoir, Dr. Jason Pegis is currently based in Colorado where he holds a full-time faculty position as the Cello Instructor at Colorado Mesa University. A recent Doctorate of Musical Arts graduate and Teaching Associate of UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music (2018-2021), Jason additionally holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Willamette University where he studied with Jason Duckles and Valdine Mishkin, and a Master of Music degree on a Max Stern Fellowship from McGill University where he studied with Matt Haimovitz. While at Willamette, his Waller Piano Trio he played in became the first chamber group from Oregon to become national finalists of the 2014 MTNA Young Artist Chamber Music Competition. He has seen much success in solo competitions as well; in 2013 and 2016 winning the Willamette University Concerto Competitions, and in 2015 winning the Eugene Symphony Young Artist Competition and Outstanding Cellist Award, and placing in the finals of the Oregon Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra Emerging Artist Competition in 2016. He also received the 2016 Zodiac Music Festival Young Artist Award, numerous instrumental awards from Mu Phi Epsilon, grants from the Williamson Foundation for Music, and a cello on loan from the Carlsen Cello Foundation. In 2017 he performed as a finalist in the McGill Concerto Competition, and held a principal cellist position of the McGill Symphony Orchestra. His recent dissertation, Lighting the Shadows of the Canon: A Modern and Contextual Reexamination of Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto No. 2 Op. 30, is publicly available through ProQuest and eScholarship.
A fellow of the 2020 International Piatigorsky Cello Festival, Jason craves unique ways to stay creatively active, taking advantage of the pandemic by learning audio and video editing skills to produce various cello content on Youtube. Demonstrating a passion for new music, Jason acquired multiple grants to commission two new solo cello works that he debuted in recent recitals. He has premiered works by Kristapor Najarian, Sergei Umroyan, and Quentin Lauvray. He is also a 2019 Dilijan Chamber Music Series artist, and has performed with artists like Johannes Moser, Axel Strauss, Ettore Causa, Victor Fournelle-Blain, Neal Stulberg, and Denis Bouriakov, Antonio Lysy, Movses Pogossian, Varty Manouelian, and Robert deMaine. Jason has been involved with the International Cello Institute for nearly a decade, most recently acting as a teacher and Director of Chamber Music, and often appears in Europe for small solo and chamber music festivals, such as the Zodiac Music Festival or Accademia Isola Classica. Some highlights of his recent years include touring the US, Canada, and Armenia premiering works as a member of UCLA’s VEM Quartet, and being featured on the Naxos and New Focus Recordings CD “Modulation Necklace,” released January 2020. Whether it’s standard classical repertoire, unique traditional music from Armenia, pop/rock or improvised music, Jason embraces the challenge and rewards of playing new styles. After taking courses from free improvisation ensemble to applied jazz theory, Jason has performed in the US and Canada as an improviser, and has given unscripted concerts with Mike Nord, Georg Hoffman, Andreas Stahel, Sherry Liang, and Brenden Ramirez. As a soloist, he has performed with the Shorewood High School Chamber Orchestra, Willamette University Chamber Orchestra, UCLA Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Symphony Orchestra, and the Palisades Symphony. As a teacher, Jason has taught cello to advanced college music majors at UCLA, students through the Angeles Academy of Music, Inside Music Academy, International Cello Institute, Richman School of Music, and his private studio, in addition to judging competitions like the 2022 Musical Arts Competition of Orange County.
In 2021 he also became celebrity actress Jenna Ortega’s cello teacher, giving her a dozen lessons over the summer to prepare her for her role as a cellist in the hit Tim Burton/Netflix show Wednesday.
Working directly with Jenna Ortega (2021).