20 COLLEGE OF THE ARTS Jonathan Villegas JONATHAN VILLEGAS is graduating with a Master’s degree in Music for Cello Performance under the instruction of Hamilton Cheifetz. During their time at PSU, Villegas also served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant and Assistant Conductor to the PSU Orchestra, Bands, and Opera. A native to Houston, Texas, Villegas moved to Oregon in 2019, and since then has performed with several regional orchestras and other artistic organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest as a cellist, conductor, actor, and performer. As a cellist, Villegas has performed with North State Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, and often performs as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Portland giving lecture-recitals and various other diverse performances. At PSU, he also served as the Event Coordinator to the String Ensemble Community Outreach program, or SECO, which is a foundation that serves to bring PSU music students to give recitals and share live music to historically underrepresented venues and audiences. As a conductor, they served as the Assistant Conductor to the PSU Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, University Band, PSU Opera, and also works as a substitute conductor for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Additionally, as an educator Villegas has assisted with several collegiate classes at PSU in Music Education and strings pedagogy, and has an active private studio of Violin, Viola, and Cello students throughout Portland. He also teaches Music Theory at Portland Youth Philharmonic and will be returning this summer to work as the Front of House Manager for Chamber Music Northwest. Villegas also was recently cast as the lead in VOZ ALTA’s production of “Ahí Vamos! The story of David Martinez,” which is an organization that features storytelling projects that features the personal lives of Portland’s Latino community through interwoven narrative and live music. Following graduation, Villegas will attend the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, for a Master’s in Wind Conducting with Dr. Harlan Parker, as a recipient of their Artistic Excellence Scholarship. Villegas would like to express their immense gratitude to God, and all the faculty, staff, family, and friends that have kept him grounded and so inspired these past two years. To the faculty that supported them from the very beginning, your empathy and artistry has created a model for exemplary musicianship and professionalism. The colleagues and friends have all given Villegas the positivity to never give up on themselves, to fearlessly follow their dreams, and to always give it their absolute best at all times, especially in music. And lastly, to their family, your love throughout their life has brought them to this day with great pride and gratitude in being Latino and queer.
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