When violinist Dylana Jenson takes the stage with the Massapequa Philharmonic on March 15 to perform the Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto, attendees will be experiencing the talents of a former child prodigy whose abilities had her playing with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic by the time she was 13.
This was on top of touring Europe, Latin America and the Soviet Union at that tender age, in addition to making television appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and a television special with Jack Benny when she was only nine years old. Fast forward to the present, and the sexagenarian classical music master lives in Michigan with her spouse, conductor David Lockington, and continues to perform and teach online and in-person masterclasses.
And while her training with master teachers like Manuel Compinsky, Nathan Milstein and Josef Gingold led to her becoming the youngest and first American woman to win the Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition when she was 17, it was her mother who planted the seeds for future success.
Growing up in poverty alongside five other siblings, Jenson’s connection with the violin started when she was around three years old, and her father brought a tiny violin home for her brother, who was a couple of years older. Her mother, who always had a deep love for violin and classical music, took it upon herself not only to get Dylana her own violin but also to teach herself violin and then use those lessons the following day to bring three of her children, including Dylana, up to speed.
“It was interesting because my mother had to teach us because at that time in the culture in the United States, the notion was to wait until children were around 10 years old and then introduce them to an instrument,” Jenson explained. “The thinking was that earlier than that, you were just wasting your time. She didn’t play the violin, but she got one to teach herself. She went to the library and got books like, Book 1 from Suzuki and How to Play the Violin. She would practice at night and then teach us the next day.”
Jenson added, “I was the one that was the pleaser and had the personality for being easily taught by my mother. I wasn’t oppositional, and I knew that I had to be a violinist, and that’s what I had to do. She actually taught me up until the Bach ‘Double Violin Concerto.’ And then she couldn’t really keep up anymore. I then didn’t really have a teacher, and it went on for a while like that. Then, at the age of seven, I started working with the absolute master violin trainer Manuel Compinsky in Los Angeles.”
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Jenson’s career took an unexpected turn after she announced her impending marriage. The violin collector Jenson, whose 1743 Guarneri violin she had been borrowing on a long-term basis, gave her a short time to return the instrument because he believed that if she were getting married, she was not serious about a career as a concert performer. After a decade-long hiatus, Jenson commissioned renowned Brooklyn-based luthier Samuel Zygmuntowicz to build a Guarneri-inspired model, which she used to record a Carnegie Hall live recording and a release based on Shostakovich/Barber.
Jenson’s love of classical music and teaching led her to be named a distinguished professor of music at Grand Valley University in Grand Rapids, MI, as well as a visiting associate professor of violin at the University of Notre Dame. It’s also led to Jenson teaching masterclasses in conjunction with scheduled recitals and concerts .
“I started teaching seriously at a conservatory level when I was 19 in New York City at the Hebrew Arts Center, which had a reputation and no longer exists,” Jenson said. “I started teaching regularly there. One of the things I thought was important to do was, wherever I would travel from that age, is that I would give masterclasses surrounding performances.
“I find it very rewarding because I have a sense of tremendous purpose to pass down my technical approach and, as well, the simplicity of my emotional approach to music through these masterclasses. A lot of the technique I use is simply not used anymore, although there are some teachers coming back to it. I really want to pass it on. I really, really love to teach.”
It’s a sentiment Massapequa Philharmonic director/conductor David Bernard shares.
“For the Massapequa Philharmonic, bringing Dylana back to the region — where audiences can experience her artistry as both a soloist and teacher — is a truly significant event for New York and Long Island, and a rare opportunity to showcase a musician of her caliber,” Bernard said.
He added, “In her teaching, she shares her approach to releasing her voice through the instrument, giving students — and observers — a window into the artistry behind that remarkable sound. Attendees of both the masterclass and the concert will witness not only her technical brilliance but also the deep musical insight that shapes her performances — a truly rare glimpse into the making of a world-class musician.”
While the virtuoso violinist will also be performing pieces by Stravinsky (“Pulcinella Suite”) and Dvořak (“Symphony No. 8), it is the Sibelius Violin Concerto that holds a special place in Jenson’s heart. Having recorded it with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy for RCA Red Seal, it is a piece of music that’s become her trademark.
“I had a period of time in my career where I didn’t have a violin to play on for about 20 years,” she said. “I wasn’t able to continue what I had built up to that point. At this point, when I’m asked to perform, I have a tremendous sense of gratitude towards the performance because it’s so rare for me.”
Dylana Jenson will be teaching a free masterclass on March 10 at Baldwin Auditorium at Massapequa High School, 4925 Merrick Rd., Massapequa. Visit massphil.com for more information. Dylana Jenson will also be performing with the Massapequa Philharmonic on March 15 at Berner Middle School Auditorium, 50 Carman Mill Rd., Massapequa. Concert admission is $15 at the door or visit eventbrite.com to buy tickets online.
