Jenson, a Grand Rapids resident, is only the second person in the university's 37-year history to be named Distinguished Professor. Her appointment, combined with her proximity to Grand Valley, is a boon for the university, said Music Department Chair Sherman Van Solkema.
Dylana Jenson is a thrilling performer and a great teacher. Her recent master class here for GVSU students was phenomenal, Van Solkema said. Although her main focus will be violin students, Dylana's appointment means a lot for all our performance students.
Jenson plans to create a violin studio for exceptionally talented students at Grand Valley, and to offer master classes for the entire string program. She said she is looking forward to passing along to her violin students the playing method taught to her by her mentor, eminent Russian violinist Nathan Milstein.
I've had incredible teachers in my life, so I feel an important commitment to teaching, Jenson said. I feel, in a way, that it's my responsibility to pass this technique and style along.
Her appointment was recognized in a Music Department Celebration Friday at the Cook De-Witt Center on the Allendale campus.
Presiding over the event was President Arend D. Lubbers. Guest speaker was David Lockington, music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and Jenson's husband. Lockington's comments, titled Eighteen years: What I've Learned from Dylana, focussed on Jenson's musical accomplishments as well as the couple's 18 years together.
A child prodigy, Jenson began playing the violin at the age of 2 and made her concert debut at age 8. By the time she was 12, she had played the Mendelssohn Concerto with the New York Philharmonic and the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony. While still a teenager, Jenson earned the distinction of becoming the youngest and first American woman to receive the Silver Medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition and was heralded by TASS as the authentic discovery of the Competition.
Soon afterward, she made her Carnegie Hall debut playing the Sibelius concerto with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The New York Times called her a mature master and her performance was hailed as unsurpassed since Heifetz.
Despite her worldwide concert schedule, a 10-year RCA recording contract, and the distinction of being one of few female soloists in the country, Jenson suffered a setback in the early 1980s when she decided to get married: the borrowed Guarnerius del Gesu violin she was using was taken back by its owner, with the reproach that her marriage signified a lack of commitment to her music.
For 10 years afterward, Jenson said, she had to borrow or rent violins wherever she performed ¿ at one time playing on 23 different instruments in one year. In 1995 she had an extraordinary violin made for her by Samuel Zygmuntowicz, which she now uses.
Jenson has received critical acclaim for her performances with major orchestras throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, Latin America and the Soviet Union, and was made an Honorary Citizen of Costa Rica for her artistic contribution to that country. Recent performances include the Louisiana Philharmonic, and the Colorado, New Mexico and Baltimore symphonies.
Friday, she performed Jean Martinon's Sonatine No. 5 for solo violin. Additional music was provided by University Organist William Klimas and the Grand Valley Brass, the faculty quintet-in-residence.
Jenson and Lockington and their three children moved to Grand Rapids a year ago when Lockington took on the musical leadership of the Grand Rapids Symphony. Jenson noted that her appointment at Grand Valley will give her an opportunity to become more a part of the West Michigan community.
That's important to me, she said. I'm looking very much forward to being actively involved where I live.
