Jonathan Welch is in his 22nd year of teaching and currently serves as the Director of Orchestras at Iowa City West High School and Performance Music Coordinator for the Iowa City Schools. A native of Cincinnati, Jonathan received a Bachelor of Music from Bowling Green State University (OH) where he studied viola with Csaba Erdelyi, Nancy Buck, and Howard Bebe, and he earned his Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Welch has previously served as Orchestra Director at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa and Anderson High School in Cincinnati, OH.

As director of the West High Orchestras, Mr. Welch's groups have earned multiple honors at both the national and state levels: Invited Performance at the 2023 Capital Orchestra Festival at Lincoln Center (Washington, D.C.); Best in Class and Festival Gold Award for best overall performance at Festival Disney (Orlando); straight Superior ratings at the 2018 ASTA National Orchestra Festival (Atlanta); and invited guests at the University of Northern Iowa Invitational Festival in both 2019 and 2022. In March of 2025, the West High Symphony Strings made their Carnegie Hall debut. 

During his time at Anderson High School, Welch’s orchestras performed at the 2013 American String Teachers Assocaition National Orchestra Festival (Providence), where they were awarded first runner-up ranking. His orchestras were also selected to perform at the 2010 and 2013 Ohio Music Education Association conferences, and in 2009 won a first runner-up rating at the National Orchestra Cup hosted by Lincoln Center (NYC). In his long career, Welch’s orchestras have had numerous collaborations and annual performance engagements with groups such as Orchestra Iowa, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Welch has held leadership positions in many organizations, including both the Iowa and Ohio chapters of American String Teachers Assocation (ASTA), and the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA). Through OMEA, Welch was a selected participant of the Da Capo Leadership Conference and served as Region Chair of Southwest Ohio, which included oversight of the 2009 and 2010 OMEA Southwest Region Orchestras. Welch currently serves on the boards of the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education and the Five Seasons Chamber Music Festival (Cedar Rapids, IA). . His 6-year term as President of the Iowa String Teachers Association concluded in 2024.

A sought after clinician and conductor, Welch was most recently appointed conductor of the Five Seasons Chamber Music Festival and has led multiple honor orchestras throughout the state of Iowa. In 2025, Mr. Welch will lead the Kennedy Honor Orchestra, the Metropolitan Honor Orchestra, the 2025 ILMEA District IV Festival, and the Iowa Junior Honors Orchestra at the All-State Festival in Ames, IA. He also served as viola coach for the Cincinnati Junior Strings through the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music which included traveling with the group on its “Down Under Tour” through New Zealand and Australia.

Jonathan remains an active performing violist in the Iowa City area, playing with multiple groups including the Iowa City Community Orchestra. He lives in North Liberty, IA with his wife Dr. Allison Carr, their son Everett, and their dog Waylon.