Dreams do come true: with a little help from diaspora, Kyiv prodigy gets his own violin (06/15/03)

Dreams do come true: with a little help from diaspora, Kyiv prodigy gets his own violin

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - He was an unwilling recipient at first - an introverted young prodigy who could play his borrowed violin for hours on Kyiv's touristy Andriivskyi Uzviz, but found it too difficult to show up for a shopping excursion to buy him some badly needed clothing. He could excel at school, where he had been double promoted to the 10th grade, but could barely find the words to put together a sentence during a press conference.

Today Ihor Lobok has the violin he wanted for so long and some small hope that he will be able to achieve his dreams. Hopefully, he also has gained some sense that he is not alone, that there are indeed people who are willing to sacrifice time and money to help those who are less fortunate.

Asked whether he was happy with the turn of events that ended with Ukrainian Americans financing his new violin, the young virtuoso could only whisper, "Yes."

Asked by a reporter during a press conference on May 4 what he would like to tell the benefactors of the instrument, he barely forced out, "I would like to say thank you," tears streaming down his cheeks and the traces of a smile on his lips.

The plight of the painfully shy, slightly built, 14-year-old violinist with a good deal of talent, which came to light in an article on poverty in The Weekly issue of March 30, evoked the compassion of many who read the story about the teenager's desire to have his own violin. The teenager was featured in the story after he became one of the prize winners in a special street musicians' festival held in Kyiv this past winter, titled "Songs of the Underground," which was organized by the Union of Humanists in Ukraine.

Almost immediately, several individuals came forward and offered to pay for the musical instrument of Ihor's dreams. One woman, preparing for a trip to the North Pole, which was to take place within a matter of days, said she was ready to buy the violin. A person from Palm Desert, Calif., contacted The Weekly's press bureau in Kyiv to offer to help. Two others called the newspaper's main office in Parsippany, N.J. Still others from the Detroit area collected $340 from among themselves and friends. In the end, these good hearts donated $1,140 to pay for a violin and help the boy realize his dreams.

People sharing Ihor's plight can be found in Detroit or New York, but his story is especially common in post-Soviet Ukraine, where some 50 percent of the country is considered to have a standard of living that falls below the poverty line.

Ihor's father suffers from a chronic disease and is unemployed, which had already made life difficult for the young boy and his older sister. Things took a turn for the worse three years ago when their mother fell ill with a terminal illness. The young man then took on the role of breadwinner. With his musical talent his only asset, he began to play a violin on the streets of Kyiv.

Several times a week he would station himself before the Tchaikovsky Conservatory on Independence Square or on Andriivskyi Uzviz, take a borrowed violin from a violin case he had purchased and place it before him in a silent request for any change passers-by might be able to spare. He would put the violin to his neck and perform pieces by his favorite composers, foremost among them not only Mozart, but Vivaldi and Berlioz as well, at times collecting up to 150 hrv for a full day's work.

He played an instrument he would borrow from the music school that he attends cost-free, courtesy of a teacher and administration that is enthralled with him and his potential.

While Ihor's initiative and talent helped buy the medicine that prolonged his mother's life and helped to feed his family as well, he could not earn enough to adequately clothe himself and his sister - much less to fulfill his dream of owning his own violin. About the only money he was able to stash away was the 200 hrv in prize money he won in the Music of the Underground competition.

Thanks to a dozen Ukrainian Americans, however, Ihor now has his own musical instrument, a French, hand-made violin, along with a horse-hair bow to go with it. And he should have more help in the future.

From among those who came forward with offers of help, first there was Motria Kokoris of North Salem, N.Y., who took an immediate interest in Ihor's plight and within days of the publication of the article contacted The Weekly's editor-in-chief to offer to purchase a violin. There was also Anton Brunton of Palm Desert, Calif., who contacted first the Parsippany home office and then the Kyiv Bureau to express his offer of assistance, as well as Petro Paraschak, of Schenectady, N.Y., who not only offered money, but also explained specifically what type of violin and strings Ihor needed. Finally, there were Myron and Anna Woronowycz, who decided to do a mini-fund raiser at St. Josaphat's Catholic Church in Warren, Mich., after Sunday church services.

Ms. Kokoris, who reportedly became the first woman of Ukrainian descent to stand on the North Pole when she did so in mid-April, also sent Ihor a vile of melted snow from the top of the world and a piece of the flag that she flew there. She explained that music had always been a large part of her life.

"Ihor's wish to be able to one day play his very own violin tugged at my heart-strings. Knowing the insurmountable odds of Ihor realizing his dream on his own, I could do no less than to provide this gift for him - in hopes that with his new instrument, he will grace the world with some of the most beautiful music ever heard," explained Ms. Kokoris.

Mr. Brunton, who also had expressed a desire to fund the violin, ended up contributing $200 to the cause only because Ms. Kokoris beat him to the violin purchase. He said he and his wife had wanted to help a Ukrainian child in some concrete way ever since a visit to Ukraine.

"Two years ago we visited Yalta and Odesa where we had seen a number of beautiful children playing various musical instruments. We wished we were able to help them with more than just by giving them a dollar," explained Mr. Brunton, who added that he wants to maintain contact with Ihor and perhaps help him in the future as well.

With plenty of money rolling into the Kyiv Bureau office of The Weekly to support Ihor and his desire for a violin, contact was made with the Union of Humanists to hold a press conference in order to present Ihor with his gifts. The two sides agreed that a second, no less important, point of the press conference would be to highlight how individuals - and not simply governments - can and should perform acts of charity to take care of those within society who are less fortunate.

With everything set and the violin purchased, the effort in support of Ihor almost came to naught after Ihor failed to appear for a shopping trip the day prior to the press conference, and was nowhere to be found all evening long. But through a dedicated effort by Oleksii Usachov, director of social programs for the Union of Humanists and the person who had first met the young violinist and brought him to the Music of the Underground Festival, Ihor reappeared the next morning.

Asked why he hadn't shown at the agreed-upon time on the day before, the normally punctual teenager meekly mumbled, "I forgot."

A quick trip to a local department store provided Ihor with his first ever concert suit and a bowtie. The shopping excursion that he forgot about will still take place, to buy the youngster and his 17-year-old sister, who also happens to be a musician - violoncello is her instrument of choice - some summer clothes and perhaps winter coats, if they can be found at this time of year.

The balance of the money, some $400, should become the initial deposit for a fund to pay for Ihor's tuition at the Reinhold Gliére Ukrainian State Music Academy in Kyiv, considered the top musical school in Ukraine specializing in violin training.

Ihor will test for admission to the academy this fall and hopes to enter next year. If he should succeed, it would be the realization of yet another part of his dream.

| Home Page |