Biography

S. Jonathan Dinsfriend was born in Anaheim, California on June 14^th, 1989. His parents never neglected to encourage him as a young pianist, beginning his fellowship with the keys at the tender age of three. His technique and musicality far exceeded his ability to read notes and write down what he composed. Like his father, he played solely by ear. When composing as a young child, beginning at the age of six, he was untrained to transfer his ideas onto paper. Thus, his compositions were always contrived aurally and remained memorized for years. He would sit daily at the piano and experiment with ideas, turning his favorite ones—the ones which brought the most aural and tactile pleasure—into finished pieces. Indeed, improvising on the piano was a vital ritual that became as natural and necessary as eating. Just as he would seldom skip a meal, Dinsfriend would not consider starving himself of the delight in meeting the eighty-eighty-component beauty amidst his busy schedule.

Raised in a devoutly Christian home, Dinsfriend lived under high expectations in regard to his school work and extracurricular activities. Ironically, the pressure was aimed toward ensuring superb academic and social achievement and was rarely focused on demanding the practice of musical instruments. Truly, Dinsfriend never felt forced to become a competent musician or composer, but rather enjoyed the liberating experience of playing and writing music as it came as a “natural talent.” In other words, since improvisation came naturally, he was content not to slave for hours of technical practice. This contentedness would soon change in late high school as he realized a need for higher technical competency in his ability as a violinist and pianist.

In his Foursquare Church, Temecula Valley House of Praise, his dad led the worship team and included him on the piano at ten years old. Dinsfriend ended up playing on this worship team for about eight years, altering in an unsystematic fashion between piano, violin, drum set, and bass guitar. On this worship team, he learned about the significance of music as a tool to point toward God, as a gift to bless not only himself but the listeners as well, and as a crucial part of his identity.

Though Dinsfriend initially desired and requested to play the drums in grade school, he was influenced by his parents to pursue the violin when he was nine years old. Nonetheless, he showed personal interest in learning the violin and was excited to be able to play familiar songs on this unique instrument. The providence of God seemed ever-present, as he began his first private violin lessons from Mrs. Sharon Rollinson, who happened to be his next-door-neighbor at the time. She gave him an effectively gentle push to get him started on technique, which helped the work of Janis Fuhr, who was director of Dinsfriend's grade school, middle school, and high school orchestras and bands. Dinsfriend gained the privilege to study violin privately with Mrs. Fuhr for his last two years of high school.

He started playing in the school orchestra in fifth grade. Beginning in eighth grade, Dinsfriend held the position in the public school orchestra as concert master for five consecutive years, until he graduated high school. During middle school, he also played bass guitar in a small jazz ensemble. For the next six years, Dinsfriend joined and formed a few hardcore rock bands, writing the songs on bass guitar and playing the drum set. He also played drum set for three years in his high school jazz ensemble. Through these same three years, from sophomore to senior year, he played the tenor drums in marching band. During this time, Dinsfriend received drum lessons from Pete Lucero, the drumline tech for the high school marching band. In his senior year, he was enthroned as section leader and drum captain of the drumline. At the same time, he was asked to compose a new cadence (drumline groove), which was utilized throughout his senior year. Also in his senior year, Pete Lucero incorporated one of Dinsfriend's most recent piano compositions into the winter drumline performance. This piano piece earned him first place in the Orange County Relfections program (an art competition to which Dinsfriend submitted his compositions since third grade).

During his junior year, the Chaparral High School Orchestra traveled to New York City to compete in the Heritage Festival, at which this small orchestra won “gold first” place with Dinsfriend leading as the concert master under the direction of Janis Fuhr. The orchestra was given the honor of performing in Boston, Massachusetts the following year. Competing with his busy schedule, Dinsfriend never forsook his love for the piano, but received no significant training or lessons until he was sixteen years old. Realizing the need to become adept in reading piano music since he planned to study composition in college, Dinsfriend decided to commit himself to a small, but significant amount of classical piano lessons during his junior year of high school. The teacher led him through a progressive sight reading season, which equipped him with C.P.E. Bach's Solfeggieto and the beginning of Beethoven's Rage Over a Lost Penny, among other accessible pieces. Studying with this piano teacher for about six months proved to be worthwhile for Dinsfriend, seeing as he not only met but exceeded the requirement in piano performance (part of the criteria to receive a bachelor degree in music composition) just after his first year of studying piano with a Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Oregon.

Dinsfriend completed his second year at U of O from 2008-2009, studying composition under Dr. Terry McQuilkin. He is currently on his way to finish his undergraduate degree as a music composition major. Dinsfriend is currently finishing his year of study with Dr. David Crumb, and during 2010-2011, he will study with Dr. Robert Kyr.

Dinsfriend drives to Sweet Home once every week to attend Cornerstone Fellowship Foursquare Church, where he plays violin, piano, and drum set on the worship team. This is also where he gives music lessons to several students, as well as in Eugene. Dinsfriend occasionally plays gigs, from jazz at restaurants to classical at weddings, with his father Chuck on guitar and vocals and his brother Eric on sax and flute. This group is active in the pacific northwest and is appropriately named the Dinsfriend Trio.