Jonathan Latta

Jonathan Latta is a performer, teacher, conductor and collaborative artist. He has an active career as a percussionist having performed with the Stockton Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Outside of California, Latta served as principal timpani for the San Juan Symphony for six years and performed for 12 seasons as percussion and drum set artist for the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra in Durango, Colorado. He is also the conductor for the Instrumental Music Ensemble at the Pacific Summer High School Institute, director of the Pacific Pep Band, and has been seen as music director and conductor at Stockton Civic Theatre since 2021. 

Before his move to California in 2014, Latta was director of percussion studies for six years at Fort Lewis College in Durango, teaching applied percussion, percussion ensemble, non-western music, orchestration and jazz. He served as director of the pep band and jazz ensembles, and conductor for musical theatre productions. In his service to the percussion community, Latta was chair of the University Pedagogy Committee for the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) for six years and a member of the PAS Education Committee.

In his early career, Latta was a member of the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West. During that time, he performed in over 300 performances serving as percussion/timpani artist for their concert band, drum set artist for the Commanders Jazz Ensemble, marching percussion for the Ceremonial Band and drum set for the Golden West Dixie Ramblers. Performances included the 2003 Tournament of Roses Parade, the 2004 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee and the interment of former President Ronald W. Reagan.

With a real passion for chamber music, Latta has performed as a chamber musician in the Durango Chamber Music Festival, the Animas Music Festival, with the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento and with the Animas Percussion Quartet at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference. In 2019, Latta performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall as a soloist with University of the Pacific’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Most recently, Latta has been heard as a soloist and helped produce the Pacific Wind Bands’ recording, “From a Deep Blue Sky.”