The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center’s Bella Vida Ballroom stage was the site of an atypically international music performance Saturday evening.
Lit up by several rows of candlelight, local pianist and music program head Oksana Kolesnikova, followed by Iranian musician Ardeshir Farah – formerly part of the well-known duo Strunz & Farah – and guitarist Luis Villegas performed for the Oksana Foundation’s first fundraising event, raising money to pay for music education for low-income students in Santa Clarita.
Kolesnikova opened Saturday’s event with a series of original piano pieces before Farah’s three-piece band took the stage, performing pieces informed by a wide range of musical influences, from Persian to Latin jazz and folk.
The pianist has been in Santa Clarita for the past 10 years – her management group partners with local schools to put students in music lessons and other extracurriculars, and she hosts music lessons at the senior center – but Saturday’s event kicked off her foundation’s local fundraising presence, said Danyelle Sanders, the event’s emcee and producer with On the Level Productions.
Before her performance began Saturday, Kolesnikova said she’d started the foundation to pay forward how her community had supported her when she was a child: Kolesnikova was born in Siberia and lived in Kazakhstan before her family moved to the U.S. when she was 15.
“I came to this country when I was 15 years old, and I did not speak any English. It was very challenging, and I never thought I would be pursuing music, because (of) limitations and lack of resources,” Kolesnikova said. “But there were a few people in my community that believed in my gift and provided me with the right direction.”
Sanders said Kolesnikova’s journey to the U.S. is “the classic immigrant story.”
“She didn’t know anybody, she didn’t have anything, and music is what made her heart come to life,” Sanders said. “She’s so proud to be a part of starting something that gives back. So she loves performing, as you can see, but she’s so happy to give back as well. So that’s really special to her.”
Sanders added that the Saturday performance – specifically billed as a candle-lit event, complete with a cigar bar and catering – was an example of the kinds of arts events you’d typically find in downtown L.A., brought right to Santa Clarita.
“I’m jealous of all the candlelight concerts that go down in L.A. so I’m just happy that we can bring it up here and have a little bit up here.”
