Juno founder and music director Zon Eastes began piano lessons at age five with his aunt Wanda who lived on a wheat farm west of Pratt, Kansas. He was introduced to the cello in fifth grade via a town-wide public school string orchestra program.

He has conducted orchestras on both coasts, and directed the Windham Orchestra (Brattleboro’s spirited community orchestra) for over twenty years. He has taught cello and coached chamber music at Amherst, Dartmouth, and Keene State colleges as well as at the Brattleboro Music Center. Eastes has performed as chamber musician and festival participant across North America, in Europe and China. His musical mentors include Blanche Moyse, Timothy Eddy, and Nancy Kerr.

Eastes is a committed arts and creativity advocate. For six years, he worked at the Vermont Arts Council, where he was director of outreach and advancement. In that capacity, he led the establishment of the Vermont Creative Network. He has also served as lead staffer for the Brattleboro Music Center and the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council (WA).