Jon Schmidt

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American pianist

title: "Jon Schmidt" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1966-births", "living-people", "new-age-pianists", "american-latter-day-saints", "american-people-of-german-descent", "university-of-utah-alumni", "musicians-from-salt-lake-city", "people-from-bountiful,-utah", "20th-century-american-pianists", "american-male-pianists", "21st-century-american-pianists", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "21st-century-american-male-musicians", "highland-high-school-(utah)-alumni"] description: "American pianist" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Schmidt" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American pianist ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameJon Schmidt
imageJon Schmidt (cropped).jpg
birth_date
birth_placeSalt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
death_date
genreNew Age, classical crossover
instrumentPiano
years_active
current_member_ofThe Piano Guys
website
::

| name = Jon Schmidt | image = Jon Schmidt (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | genre = New Age, classical crossover | occupation = | instrument = Piano | years_active = | current_member_of = The Piano Guys | website = Jon Schmidt (born 1967) is an American pianist and composer. Classically trained, he branched into New Age music in his 20s and has developed a classical crossover style that blends classical, contemporary, and rock and roll. He has released eight solo albums and seven piano books containing original scores. Since 2010 he has been a member of The Piano Guys musical group, performing on their YouTube videos, albums, and in concert.

Early life and education

Jon Schmidt was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to German immigrants. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Germany, and he is also a member of the church.

Schmidt was exposed to classical music at a young age. and started teaching piano at age 16. As a student at Highland High School, he frequently played the piano at school assemblies and concerts. After graduation, he served on a mission to Norway, where he was known as the "mission piano player".

Schmidt was offered a music scholarship to the University of Utah, but decided to major in English instead. As he progressed in his undergraduate studies, he began thinking about pursuing a graduate degree in business administration. His career plans changed as he began performing in public.

Musical career

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|width=250px |align=right |quoted=true |bgcolor= |salign=right |quote=My whole goal is to have a good time. I can't take my music or myself too seriously. That's the problem sometimes with classical performers is they take themselves too seriously. I consider myself a rock pianist. |source=–Jon Schmidt, 2010 Schmidt initially played at benefit concerts and recorded his music for sale on cassette tape. He then decided to promote himself by booking himself into large venues such as the Highland High School auditorium, which he filled with an audience of 1,000, and Kingsbury Hall, the largest performance venue in Salt Lake City, which he also sold out.

He released his first album, August End, in 1991. After that he signed with Aubergine Records and released A Walk in the Woods (1993), A Day in the Sunset (1994), and Jon Schmidt Christmas (1995). In 2000 he released To the Summit under his own label, JSP Productions.

By 2010 Schmidt was giving 100 concerts a year in the Wasatch Front metropolitan area of Utah, as well as in Arizona, Southern California, Idaho, and Washington state.

Schmidt has published seven piano books containing original scores.

The Piano Guys

Main article: The Piano Guys

Schmidt became a member of The Piano Guys in 2010. The group and its music video concept originated as the social media marketing strategy of Paul Anderson, owner of The Piano Guys piano store in St. George, Utah. Anderson suggested that he produce professional videos of the musicians performing and upload them to his store's YouTube channel.

After producing a number of videos that failed to garner much interest, the group posted "Michael Meets Mozart" (2011), and Schmidt invited the nearly 30,000 people on his fan mailing list "to watch it and share it". Views took off beyond the region.

Musical style

Schmidt blends classical, pop, and rock and roll in his compositions.

Personal life

Schmidt and his wife Michelle have five children

Discography

Solo albums

  • August End (1991)
  • Walk in the Woods (1993)
  • A Day in the Sunset (1994)
  • Jon Schmidt Christmas (1995)
  • To the Summit (2000)
  • Winter Serenade (2004)
  • Hymns Without Words (2006)
  • Piano Portraits Lullaby (2009)
  • Bonus Tracks (2009)

Guest appearances

  • Piano Portraits (2002) – solo performances by Schmidt, Paul Cardall, Michael R. Hicks, and David Tolk
  • Pure Touch: Vol. 1 (2008) – with Matt Bachrach and Craig Linder

The Piano Guys

Piano books

References

References

  1. Toone, Trent. (October 31, 2012). "23 interesting Latter-day Saints who have profiles on Mormon.org". [[Deseret News]].
  2. Dillon, Charlotte. (2017). "Jon Schmidt". [[AllMusic]].
  3. Bonfiglio, Jeremy D.. (September 22, 2016). "The Piano Guys are doing better than 'Okay'". [[The Herald-Palladium]].
  4. (2017). "Band History". SoundClick.
  5. Friedmann, Pascal. (October 1, 2015). "Pianist Jon Schmidt performs at LDS Institute". [[Weber State University]].
  6. Allen, McKay. (March 29, 2010). "Schmidt brings musical gifts to Inland Northwest". Latter-Day Sentinel.
  7. Heywood, Klydi. "Jon Schmidt of The Piano Guys Details His Road to 217 Million YouTube Views". [[Utah State University]].
  8. "Ten Week Note-Reading Method". jonschmidt.com.
  9. "Jon Schmidt – The Piano Guys' Piano Guy". Yamaha Entertainment Group.
  10. Weiss, Geoff. (March 27, 2015). "How These Four Dads From Utah Quit Their Day Jobs to Make Millions on YouTube". [[Entrepreneur (magazine).
  11. (2017). "About Me". mormon.org.
  12. (March 22, 2013). "The Piano Guys success spreads worldwide: Debut album, overseas appearances, US tour". St George News.
  13. Blodgett-Williams, Dacia A.. (2017). "Piano Portraits". AllMusic.
  14. (2017). "Matt Bachrach / Craig Linder / Jon Schmidt: Pure Touch". AllMusic.

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1966-birthsliving-peoplenew-age-pianistsamerican-latter-day-saintsamerican-people-of-german-descentuniversity-of-utah-alumnimusicians-from-salt-lake-citypeople-from-bountiful,-utah20th-century-american-pianistsamerican-male-pianists21st-century-american-pianists20th-century-american-male-musicians21st-century-american-male-musicianshighland-high-school-(utah)-alumni