April 26, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- David Lockington, music director laureate for the Grand Rapids Symphony, will take the baton for the first half of the Kent Philharmonic Orchestra’s May 5 concert, an event leaders say will shine a light on the program and inspire others to participate.
The concert will feature a double concerto for violin and viola, with internationally known musician Dylana Jenson on violin and GRCC music professor and KPO director Libor Ondras on viola during the first half.
Tickets are available online at $14 for adults and $7 for seniors, veterans and children over 12. Children under 12, high school students and GRCC students are admitted free. The event is at the St. Cecilia Music Center, 24 Ransom Ave. NE in Grand Rapids.
Ondras will take the reins in the second half of the concert, and he said that having two big names from the world of music in Lockington and Jenson return to Grand Rapids is quite a coup.
“It’s not the first time they will be with us, but it is a thrill every time they perform,” he said. “We are not a professional orchestra, so we can’t afford to pay what managed performers demand. But David and Dylana come in because of their passion and because they want to serve the community. And we are grateful.”
Ondras first reached out to Lockington and Jenson, who are married, when he came to GRCC in 2014, and for the past decade he has collaborated with the couple, including a string trio that he said they jokingly call the LiDyDa Trio based on the first two letters of their first names.
Lockington became the Grand Rapids Symphony’s music director in 1999 and served in the role for 16 seasons. The New York Times once referred to the symphony under his leadership “being a model in the classical music world.”
Jenson was a child prodigy, and started studying violin with her mother before she was three years old. She made her debut at age 8, appeared on a Jack Benny television special a year later. She made her Carnegie Hall concert debut in 1980, and has played with orchestras around the world.
The contributions Lockington and Jenson have made to the KPO have not gone unnoticed by its members, Ondras added, and have been in keeping with the KPO ethos.
“We are 65 members from all walks of life and all ages,” he said. “We are a mixture of GRCC students and alumni and professionals. But we are united by a passion and a willingness to contribute to the best of our abilities, and there is a sense of community and camaraderie in the ensemble. We help each other grow, and we celebrate our accomplishments.”
Patty O’Haire Mogor, the KPO’s Executive Board president, said she is excited to play alongside Lockington and Jenson, and believes their participation with the KPO will inspire amateur musicians to perform, learn more about music and become part of Grand Rapids’ musical community.
“For me personally, I never dreamed that I would play my violin in an orchestra with connections to such tremendous talent!” she said. “It has been such a gift to participate as a member of the Kent Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Libor Ondras who is an incredible international performer in his own right and inspiring conductor that connects and guides us and makes it an absolute joy to be there.”
Membership in KPO requires an audition with Ondras and also requires enrollment to GRCC with a $20 enrollment fee each semester for all members.
GRCC provides funding for the conductor, rehearsal space and more, and the KPO provides the balance of its funding through ticket sales, donations and fundraising. Concerts are presented in Royce Auditorium at the St. Cecilia Music Center, a collaborative partner with GRCC, as well as other Grand Rapids area venues.
In Ondras, the KPO has an accomplished conductor at the helm. He began his studies as a recipient of the Slovak Ministry of Culture fellowship to study viola at the prestigious Moscow Conservatory with Yuri Bashmet. To further his career and experience, Ondras continued his studies at the Academy of Music Arts in Prague and then completed his M.M and D.M.A. degrees at the University of Houston.
Among the highlights of his graduate studies years are fellowships at the Pacific Music Festival established by Leonard Bernstein (Japan), the Aspen Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute (University of Maryland), Encore (Cleveland Institute of Music), and Sir George Solti's Carnegie Hall Project.
This story was reported by Phil de Haan.