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Gilbert student captures audiences with his violin

BY DANA TRUMBULL

GSN Contributor

Astudent at Arete Prep in Gilbert will be performing solos with at least two major U.S. orchestras and on a national classical radio broadcast after winning $10,000 in a contest. Jonathan Okseniuk, 15, won first place and $10,000 in the junior division of the annual Sphinx Organization Competition for his performance of Mozart’s Fourth Violin Concerto.

Along with the orchestra appearances in Buffalo and Miami, Jonathan will perform on an online radio program run by Over The Top, a Boston non-profit organization that celebrates the stories, talents and character of young classically-trained musicians.

Jonathan is no stranger to the competition run by Sphinx, a nonprofit whose programs are aimed at developing and supporting diversity and inclusion in classical music and that reaches more than 100,000 students and artists as well as live and broadcast audiences of more than two million annually.

In 2021, Jonathan won second place performance for his performance in the Sphinx Competition, winning $5,000.

Jonathan has studied with Jing Zeng, First Violinist for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, since he was 3, but fell in love with the art well before that, according to his mother, Desiree Okseniuk.

She said he was about 19 months old when she and her husband Ed noticed him watching Dutch violinist Andre’ Rieu on television, mesmerized by the music.

“His whole world changed,” she recalled. “It was obvious. It was like the light switch flipped on. Back then, we didn’t really have YouTube and all that, so we bought two DVDs. One just happened to be Itzhak Perlman and Jascha Heifetz, and that’s all he wanted to watch.”

While other toddlers were watching Spongebob Squarepants, Jonathan was watching Rieu, Perlman and Heifetz.

“We were looking for a teacher before he turned 2,” said Desiree.

One of the teachers she contacted suggested that they buy a foam violin to start with. They did, “but it came with this big wooden stick for a bow. I always thought he would poke his eye out, but he loved that foam violin,” his mother laughed.

When Jonathan was 2 1/2, Desiree took him to an educational outreach program put on by the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. It was intended for children ages 5-12, but Jonathan’s rapt attention and involvement – and his foam violin – caught the notice of Zeng, who herself began playing at age 4. She agreed to train him.

Ed’s father had already bought his grandson his first real violin.

Twelve years later, Jonathan’s love for music continues to bloom. He has collected numerous awards and earned the opportunity to perform with several prominent orchestras. Recently, he placed first in a concerto

Jonathan Okseniuk of Mesa is a veteran violinist at age 15: He started playing when he

was 3. (Special to GSN)

see VIOLIN page 18

Gilbert animal sanctuary slates big yard sale

GSN NEWS STAFF

You probably don’t know Alfred, but the Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary in Gilbert sure does. Since the 8-year-old stray poodle joined the Friends for Life family in mid-November, he has had two surgeries, multiple exams and X-rays, radiographs and medications that ran up a tab of more than $2,700.

Because of expenses like that, Friends for Life is holding a fundraising yard sale 7 a.m.-noon Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, at its shelter at 952 W. Melody Ave., Gilbert.

Friends for Life hopes people can support its endeavor and save dogs like Alfred in any – or all – of three ways.

First, the rescue is looking for donations of used items for the sale. All donations are tax-deductible and can be dropped off at the rescue at its storage pod.

“We will accept anything – yes, even clothing,” it says, adding that kitchen appliances, houseware furniture are also sought.

Second, it’s hoping people will come by to shop for what others have donated. For a $5 donation on Thursday, people do some early-bird shopping 4:30-7 p.m. Thursday, March 10. Admission is free Friday and Saturday.

The third way is to just make a contribution to support its work.

It’s work like what volunteers did for Alfred that is partly the focus of the sanctuary, the only 2021 Arizona recipient of Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Across American Foundation award.

“Once this sweet guy made eye contact with us,” a spokesperson said, “we knew we had to bring him back to Friends for Life. We could tell that he wasn’t feeling well and took him to our vet.”

He was diagnosed with several maladies, including cataracts.

Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary is a registered nonprofit no-kill, volunteer-based organization that rescues strays from streets and desert areas and often provides medical attention like it did for Alfred while caring for the animals as it seeks adoptive families. It recently opened a new 12,000-squarefoot shelter.

And all that care doesn’t come for free. Information: 480-497-8296 or email at: info@azfriends.org.

Medical care for Alfred the poodle cost the Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary some big bucks and it’s expenses like that that make next weekend’s yard sale important to the nonprofit’s continuing operation. (Friends for Life)

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

competition and was scheduled to play with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall earlier this year but the performance was canceled due to COVID concerns. It was to be a side-by-side performance with the Phoenix Youth Symphony, with whom he regularly performs.

In the past, Jonathan has played and performed on the piano as well, and even was a guest conductor at age 4, though he has relinquished these pursuits to focus on honing his skills on the violin. He practices about four hours a day and dreams of playing Carnegie Hall.

“My favorite piece to play is always the one I’m working on,” he explained, “because you can always discover new things while you’re practicing a piece. It’s totally different… When you listen to it, you only uncover the top or the outermost details. When you practice the piece, you actually uncover more of the deeper details that lie within the music. That’s what’s really special about playing music. “Everything matters, even your fingertips – how much pressure you put on the fingerboard and your bow… All that stuff matters, but especially what you feel as a person; as a human being.”

It doesn’t bother Jonathan to play in front of audiences. In fact, Desiree confided that among the pandemic’s unfortunate impacts is the absence of live performances.

Virtual performances lack the synergy between the performers and audiences, she said. “I get lost in the music,” said Jonathan. “But it’s also fun to perform with other musicians, because that’s where the most communication comes from. You just really feel that emotion.”

As for where Jonathan gets his talent and interest, his mother said, “I don’t get it.” She said neither she nor her husband are musicians.

“But it’s a gift,” she added, “and it’s our responsibility to nurture it and see where it goes.”

The Sphinx Competition Finals concert can be viewed at youtube.com/ watch?v=Y5u5C41HPrA.