Performer Details
Performer Bio Synopsis
Iowa City West High School has been ranked the number one high school in the state of Iowa for five consecutive years, and was named a Grammy Signature Gold School by the Grammy Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.
The West High Orchestra Program is widely recognized as one of the premier high school string programs in the state. The program serves nearly 500 strings students in grades 5–12, including approximately 130 students at the high school level. Students participate in a wide range of ensembles, including three curricular orchestras, Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, and pit orchestra for the school’s spring musicals.
Located in Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa and the Preucil School of Music, the program thrives within a community deeply rooted in and nationally respected for its tradition of excellence in string music education.
At the state level, West High Orchestras have consistently led in All-State Orchestra selections, earned consecutive Superior ratings at the Valley Orchestra Clinic in Des Moines, and were selected as the featured ensemble for the 2025 Iowa String Teachers Association Conference. Nationally, the program has performed at the Capital Orchestra Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2023) and made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2025. West High Symphony Strings earned straight Superior ratings, Best-in-Class honors, and the Festival Gold Award for Best Overall Orchestra at the Festival Disney National Competition (2020), and received straight Superior ratings at the American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festivals in Atlanta and Albuquerque (2018, 2008).
Under the direction of Jonathan Welch, the orchestra program maintains ongoing collaborative performances with the University of Northern Iowa Orchestras and appears regularly at the historic Paramount Theatre alongside Orchestra Iowa, the region’s professional orchestra. Our students perform with ensembles such as the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles and the Preucil School Orchestras while consistently earning selection and top honors in the Iowa Junior Honors Orchestra, Kennedy Honors Orchestra, Metropolitan Honors Orchestra, and the Iowa String Teachers Association regional and state honors orchestras.
Iowa City West High Symphony Strings
Conductor's Bio
Jonathan Welch is in his 23rd year of teaching and currently serves as Director of Orchestras at Iowa City West High School and Performance Music Coordinator for the Iowa City Community School District. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he earned a Bachelor of Music from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Welch previously served as Orchestra Director at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa, and Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
As Director of the West High Orchestras, Mr. Welch’s ensembles have earned numerous honors at the state and national levels. Highlights include an invited performance at the 2023 Capitol Orchestra Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Best in Class and the Festival Gold Award for Best Overall Orchestra at Festival Disney in Orlando; straight Superior ratings at the 2018 ASTA National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta; and invitations to perform at the University of Northern Iowa Invitational Orchestra Festival in 2019 and 2022. In March 2025, the West High Symphony Strings made their Carnegie Hall debut.
As Director at Anderson High School, Mr. Welch’s orchestras performed at the 2013 American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival in Providence, Rhode Island, where they received a first runner-up ranking. His ensembles were also selected to perform at the 2010 and 2013 Ohio Music Education Association conferences and received first runner-up honors at the 2009 National Orchestra Cup hosted by Lincoln Center in New York City. Mr. Welch’s orchestras have participated in numerous collaborations and annual performance engagements with organizations including Orchestra Iowa, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Welch has held leadership positions with several professional organizations, including the Iowa and Ohio chapters of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA). Through OMEA, he was a selected participant in the Da Capo Leadership Conference and served as Region Chair for Southwest Ohio, overseeing the 2009 and 2010 OMEA Southwest Region Orchestras. He currently serves on the boards of the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education and the Five Seasons Chamber Music Festival in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His six-year term as President of the Iowa String Teachers Association concluded in 2024.
A sought-after clinician and conductor, Mr. Welch currently serves as conductor for the Five Seasons Chamber Music Festival and has conducted numerous honor orchestras throughout Iowa. His recent conducting engagements include the Kennedy Honor Orchestra, Metropolitan Honor Orchestra, 2025 ILMEA District IV Festival, and Iowa Junior Honors Orchestra at the All-State Festival in Ames, Iowa. He also served as a viola coach for Cincinnati Junior Strings through the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music prep department.
Mr. Welch remains an active performing violinist/violist in the Iowa City area, performing with several ensembles, including the Iowa City Community Orchestra. He lives in the Iowa City area with his wife, Dr. Allison Carr, their son, Everett, and their dog, Waylon.
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