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A Prodigious Talent

David Lisker, a ninth-grader at Laguna Hills High School, is one of only 35 young musicians in the world accepted into the Perlman Music Program for this summer. Based in East Hampton, N.Y., the six-week program is for gifted pre-college students.
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April 27, 2000

One day, about 12 years ago, David Lisker turned on the record player, picked up a pencil and waved it about to conduct a Mahler symphony. Lots of music-lovers do that. But it’s not exactly typical behavior for a 2-year-old child.

David’s mother, Inna Lisker, recalls that day as though it were yesterday. “David was actually conducting with a lot of passion and following the music very closely,” she said. “It was amazing.”

Even before David picked up that pencil, Inna Lisker had a gut feeling that her son would be a musician. She had no idea, however, that someday he would study with violinist Itzhak Perlman.

David, a ninth-grader at Laguna Hills High School, is one of only 35 young musicians in the world accepted into the Perlman Music Program for this summer. Based in East Hampton, N.Y., the six-week program is for gifted pre-college students.

“There are only 18 violinists that were chosen from all over the world, out of hundreds and hundreds of applicants,” said Linda Rose, a San Fernando Valley violin teacher with whom David has studied for four years.

As part of his application to the Perlman program, David sent in a tape of his solo performance in December with the Orange County Jewish Community Center Orchestra. At the end of the concert, audience members shouted “bravo” and gave the young musician, along with the orchestra, a standing ovation. Apparently Perlman also was impressed with the young man’s talent.

After David flies to New York in July, his days will be packed: four hours of violin practice daily, chamber orchestra rehearsal, singing in a choir. A major highlight of the program is once-a-week master classes with Itzhak Perlman. And for the summer’s grand finale, the 35 participants will perform in a “Mostly Mozart” concert at New York City’s Lincoln Center.

“Music was in David’s blood from the day he was born. In our home, everything was related to music,” said Art Lisker, David’s father. In Russia, where David was born, the Liskers lived in a one-room studio apartment with a piano right near the baby’s bed. When they weren’t playing their own instruments, his parents listened to classical records. They even named their child after David Oistrakh, a famous Russian violinist.

David’s parents are both musicians — his mother accompanies him on piano, and his father is a professional violinist and pianist who lives in Chicago. Before moving to America 10 years ago, they lived in Novosibirsk, a cultural center in Siberia, and graduated from a music school for gifted children. Art Lisker attended music conservatory and was principal violist with a symphony orchestra. In Russia, playing music was prestigious and an important part of life for Jewish children.

The Liskers took their son to symphony orchestra concerts almost every week starting when he was 2 years old. They sat in the balcony, which was not crowded, and people watched in amazement as the baby waved a baton as though he were conducting.

With only one suitcase, three violins, a viola and about $400, the Liskers left Russia and moved to Chicago. During the emigration process, they stayed in Vienna in a one-room studio with Art’s family. That’s where 4-year-old David first started to play violin. He remembers that his father was a demanding teacher, making him play notes over and over until he played them correctly.

The child’s first “performance” was a Beethoven piece. “The first time David played the whole thing, everyone was so excited and impressed,” Inna Lisker said. By age 5, David and his father were playing duets together.

David’s days are hectic. After school, he practices two to three hours, followed by homework. One night a week he plays with the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra. David also helps take care of his 3-year-old brother. And on Saturdays, he goes to Los Angeles for violin lessons. In his limited free time, David enjoys playing sports such as basketball and baseball.

The Liskers divorced nine years ago, only one year after arriving in Chicago from Europe. Five years later, Inna Lisker and her son settled in Los Angeles, where they lived until they moved to Orange County when David was in seventh grade.

Art Lisker, who still lives in Chicago, said the divorce was difficult for his son. “It was painful for David to see us separate,” he said. Although David visits his father twice a year, being apart is tough for his dad too. “It’s always hard. I miss David every day,” Lisker said.

David admits it’s a challenge sometimes to get himself to practice. But he likes to share his talent with others: “I love to perform.” When he picks up the violin to play, his intense dark brown eyes show the passion he puts into his music. Although practicing is tedious and he often gets into arguments with his mom when they’re practicing a piece together, nothing gets in the way of David’s dream of becoming a professional musician.

Even given David’s talent and confidence, though, the news of his acceptance by the Perlman program took some time to sink in. “This is unbelievable,” he said. “How many people in this world get a chance to study with one of the best violinists in the world?”


Susan Reznick is a writer and researcher in Orange County.

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