The Bicolano bass-baritone, Jonathan de la Paz Zaens, started singing as a boy soprano in his mother´s boys´ choir back in the Philippines.
At the young age of eleven, he won first place at the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (1981), giving him the opportunity to be the first scholar in Voice at the Philippine High School for the Arts.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in voice, cum laude, at the University of the Philippines under the tutelage Professor Andrea O. Veneracion (Philippine National Artist for Music). He finished his studies in Voice/Music Theater at the Academy of the Arts in Berlin, Germany under Professor Dr. Herbert Brauer.
He won the 7th Sylvia Geszty International Coloratura Voice Competition and a finalist of the 13th Bach International Competition and of the Mendelssohn Voice Competition.
Guest performances led him to the State Opera and Estates Theater in Prague where he sang the Mozart roles of Leporello and Guglielmo.
In Berlin, he performed with the Neuköllner Opera, Berliner Chamber Opera and the New Opera Stage.
As an Oratorio Singer, he constantly sings the Bass parts of the main Oratorios of Bach, Mozart, Händel, Haydn, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Rossini. He once gave Lied recitals in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Czech Republic, Costa Rica, USA, and the Philippines.
His repertoire also comprises music of the 21st century. At the Salzburg Festival (2003), he sang in the world premiere of Stockhausen´s Düfte-Zeichen“ (Scents-Signs) and at the Musik Triennale in Cologne (2010), the world premiere of “ORVONTON“ from Stockhausen´s SOUND Cycle. Furthermore, he has also performed other works of Stockhausen, Sciarrino, Zender, Rihm, Eötvös, Piazzolla at the Berliner Festival, Schwetzinger Festival, Biennial Festival in Venice, Agora Festival in Paris, Modern Music Festival in Warsaw and Koblenz Theater.
In the spring of 2018, he played the lead role in a contemporary opera (ARGO by Sanchez-Verdu) at the Schwetzinger Festival and Mainz State Theater.
Recent performances led him to major European concert halls and festivals, including the Budapest Tavaszi Festival, Gdansk Actus Humanus Festival, Alter Oper Frankfurt, Philharmonie de Paris, and Palau de la Musica in Barcelona singing the Bass part in Bach´s St. Mathew Passion under the baton of Rene Jacobs.
Zaens was a member of the world renowned Philippine Madrigal Singers and is currently a member of the RIAS Chamber Choir, a professional choir based in Berlin.