Jon Schmidt is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 currently residing in Salt Lake City, Utah. He describes his style as "New Age

New Age music

New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...

 Classical." He was born to German immigrants who acquainted him with the works of such composers as Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin. He began songwriting at age 11. To date, he has released eight albums and seven piano books containing transcriptions of original arrangements.

His work is often described as New Age music

New Age music

New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...

 with pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 elements of hook

Hook (music)

A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...

 and melody

Melody

A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...

. He is also noted for his treatment of harmony

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

, counterpoint

Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

, and rhythm

Rhythm

Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...

. His works were also featured on sample discs for the Iomega

Iomega

Iomega is an American producer of consumer external, portable and networking storage hardware. Established in the 1980s, Iomega has sold more than 410 million digital storage drives and disks. On April 8, 2008, EMC Corporation announced its plans to acquire Iomega for a consideration of US $213M...

 Hipzip Digital Audio Player with the pieces "Sacred Ground", "All of Me", and "Waterfall".

Schmidt's influences include Mannheim Steamroller

Mannheim Steamroller

Mannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...

, Billy Joel

Billy Joel

William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...

, and Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

.

Schmidt currently has more than 1.5 million hits on YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 for his piano/cello arrangement of Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...

's "Love Story

Love Story (Taylor Swift song)

"Love Story" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman, alongside Swift. It was released on September 12, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the lead single from Swift's second studio album Fearless...

" and Coldplay

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

's "Viva La Vida", which is called "Love Story meets Viva La Vida".

Personal life

Schmidt is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of his CDs is a collection of hymns without words. Schmidt has also worked with Peter Breinholt

Peter Breinholt

Peter Breinholt is a recording artist popular in the Salt Lake City, Utah local music scene. His music is usually classified as singer-songwriter....

 in producing music for Especially for Youth

Especially for Youth

Especially For Youth is a week long youth-oriented seminar focused on fellowship and teaching the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

.

Schmidt and his wife Michelle have five children.

Discography

"Bonus Tracks", 2009, JS Productions

1. Love Story meets Viva la Vida (Taylor Swift Remix)
2. Long Long Ago (Piano/Cello)
3. Jessica's Theme (from The Man from Snowy River)
4. Road Trip
5. 8:42 at Red Rock Canyon (Verbal Intro)
6. 8:42 at Red Rock Canyon
7. All of Me (Sut's Fav.) Live
8. Dumb Song Live
9. Peanuts Medley Live (Linus & Lucy, Track Meet - Vince Guaraldi Cover)
10. Death of Dumbledore
11. Thank You (For the Heroes)
12. The Fishing Stream
13. ROCKmaninoff (Prelude in C-sharp minor - Rachmaninoff)

Hymns Without Words, 2006, JS Productions

1. For the Beauty of the Earth
2. Renaissance Hymn (Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise / Saints Behold How Great Jehovah)
3. Baptism Hymn
4. A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief
   A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief
   "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" is a seven-stanza poem written in 1826 by James Montgomery. The words of the poem have since been adopted as a Christian hymn.-Origin and authorship:...
   
   
5. Our Savior's Love
6. Onward Christian Soldiers
7. Hymn of Nature (All Creatures of Our God and King)
8. Funeral Hymn (Jesus the Very Thought / Tribute)
9. That Easter Morn
10. O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown
11. Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands

Winter Serenade, 2004, JS Productions

1. In The Bleak Midwinter
   In the Bleak Midwinter
   "In the Bleak Midwinter" is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872 in response to a request from the magazine Scribner's Monthly for a Christmas poem....
   
   
2. Pachelbel
   Johann Pachelbel
   Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...
   
    meets U2
   U2
   U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
   
   
3. North Pole Express (Ding Dong Merrily On High
   Ding Dong Merrily on High
   "Ding Dong Merrily on High" is a Christmas carol. The tune first appeared as a secular dance tune known as "le branle de l'Official" in Orchésographie, a dance book written by Jehan Tabourot...
   
   )
4. Wexford Carol
   Wexford Carol
   The Wexford Carol is a traditional religious Irish Christmas carol originating from County Wexford, and specifically, Enniscorthy , and dating to the 12th century. The subject of the song is that of the nativity of Jesus Christ....
   
   
5. Still, Still, Still
   Still, Still, Still
   Still, Still, Still is an Austrian Christmas carol and lullaby. In German its first line is "Still, still, still, weil's Kindlein schlafen will!" The melody is a folk tune from the State of Salzburg...
   
   
6. First Run
7. Winter Serenade (Sussex Carol
   Sussex Carol
   The Sussex Carol is a Christmas carol popular in Britain, sometimes referred to by its first line On Christmas night all Christians sing. Its words were first published by Luke Wadding, a 17th-century Irish bishop, in a work called Small Garland of Pious and Godly Songs...
   
   )
8. Deep Winter (Prelude in B-flat minor)
9. Last Lullaby (Thomas' Song)
10. I Will

To The Summit, 2000, JS Productions

1. Prelude (My Little Girl)
2. Rush Hour on the Escalante
3. To the Summit
4. Night Song
5. Game Day (Highland Games)
6. Air on the "F" String
7. Our Song
8. I Do
9. Can't Help Falling in Love
10. Sacred Ground

Jon Schmidt Christmas, 1997, Shadow Mountain

1. Were you There?
2. Bring A Torch Jeanette Isabella
   Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
   "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle" is a Christmas carol which originated from the Provence region of France in the 16th century. The song is usually notated in 3/8 time....
   
   
3. Christmas Medley
4. Stars Were Gleaming
5. I Saw Three Ships
   I Saw Three Ships
   "I Saw Three Ships " is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England. A variant of its parent tune "Greensleeves", the earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William B. Sandys in 1833...
   
   
6. Star Carol
7. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
   It Came upon a Midnight Clear
   "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" is a poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Lancaster, Massachusetts...
   
   
8. Christmas Morning
9. Süsser de Glocken
10. Christmas Hymn
11. Lo, How a Rose Ere Blooming
    Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
    "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" , most commonly translated to English as "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" or "A Spotless Rose", is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin.-History:...
    
    
12. Behold and See
13. Gaelic Blessing
14. Silent Night

Day in the Sunset, 1994, Aubergine Records

1. By Moonlight
2. Soaring
3. Morning Light
4. Care Free
5. Going Home
6. Solace
7. Christopher's Song
8. Longing
9. Second Variation
10. Big Sky Sunset

Walk in the Woods, 1993, Aubergine Records

1. Good Times (Class Of '84)
2. Waterfall
3. Passages
4. Winter Wind
5. Walk In The Woods
6. Hymn of Spring
7. Bells of Freedom
8. Good Day
9. Tribute (Rose-Anne's Song)
10. Cherished Moments

August End, 1991, Aubergine Records

1. Heart of a Child
2. Homecoming
3. Nativity
4. First Love
5. Ridin' West
6. August End
7. Piece Of The Storm
8. All Of Me
9. Song Of The Ocean
10. Bedtime Story

Singles

• Dumb song (live) - Jon Live in Concert in 2000

• Three songs in 2003 Piano Portraits album by Jon Schmidt, Paul Cardall
  Paul Cardall
  Paul Cardall is an American pianist.-History:Cardall says his earliest memories of music were songs learned in Primary....
  
  , David Tolk and Michael R. Hicks:
  • 1. My Little Girl
  • 7. The Fishing Stream
  • 11. Morning Light

• Two songs in 2006 Sacred Cello album by Steven Sharp Nelson
  Steven Sharp Nelson
  Steven Sharp Nelson is a pioneer in “cello-percussion”—an alternative performance method that combines traditional, lyrical cello techniques with unconventional pizzicato and percussive technique. He was born and still resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. He began studying cello at age 8, percussion...
  
  :
  • 3. Clair De Lune
    Suite bergamasque
    The Suite bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. Debussy commenced the suite in 1890 at age 28, but he did not finish or publish it until 1905.-History:...
    
     - composed by Claude Debussy
    Claude Debussy
    Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
    
    
  • 8. Rhapsody on the theme of Paganini
    Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
    The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A minor, Op. 43 is a concertante work written by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It is written for solo piano and symphony orchestra, closely resembling a piano concerto. The work was written at Villa Senar, according to the score, from July 3 to August 18, 1934...
    
     - composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
    
    , arranged by Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson

• One song in 2008 Tender Mercies album by Steven Sharp Nelson:
  • 8. New World

External links

• Official Site
• Sunday Sundown Blog
• KSL's Report on the Musical Identity Theft
• Jon Schmidt on Imeem
• [ All music profile]