By Laurie Niles: Even though she's been playing the violin since she was two years old, violinist Dylana Jenson has never experienced any kind of injury associated with this infamously awkward instrument. On Monday, Dylana spoke with me about her approach to the violin; helping people heal from playing-related injury; and preventing injury in the first place. Here is our virtual interview:
Jenson attributes her lack of injury over the years to the approach that she learned from her three teachers, Manual Compinsky, Nathan Milstein and Josef Gingold.
That approach is something she now shares with her students at Notre Dame University, where she recently started teaching as a visiting associate professor of violin. In our interview she also talks about how music lessons are progressing at Notre Dame during COVID times, and about the new violin that New York-based luthier Sam Zygmuntowicz is making for her.
On October 16 Jenson will give a free virtual master class from Notre Dame - if you wish to attend, click here for more information. She'll give another free master class on November 13.
Jenson plays without a shoulder rest, though she does not demand that her students do the same. But she does look for students to be comfortable in their playing, and if they wish to change something (such as ditching the shoulder rest) she helps them to do so through a mindful process that involves adjusting their technique as well.
Jenson, who earned a silver medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition when she was 17, has played with orchestras all over the world. She is married to conductor David Lockington, and over the summer their family moved from their longtime home in Grand Rapids, Mich., to South Bend, Ind. to be closer to Notre Dame.
Here is the link to the video Dylana mentioned, of Yuval Yaron playing the Chaconne from Bach's solo Partita in D minor.You might also like:
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