When he was eight, Jim played for all musical events at the school he attended, and at the age of nine he composed his first song. The Cherson city government began sending him to other cities and provinces for talent competition.
At twelve, Jim captured the big prize. He won a talent contest that awarded him fifteen years' free education at the Stolarsky Conservatory of Music at Odessa. Board and room were to be free, too. He danced with glee. The elder Maria  was seeing her dreams come true for at least one member of the family. But it didn't last long. The Cherson city government dashed the plans by issuing a decree that NO member of the Fras family could travel farther than a radius of thirty-five kilometers from Cherson. The mayor temporized the order by proclaiming that the city government would provide music lessons for Jim right in Cherson.

What really happened was far different and was indeed a tragedy. Young Jim's true identity had been discovered. The local newspaper carried a front-page article under the heading, "Son of Bourgeois Wins Talent Contest -- Why?" The Mayor and other city officials had known all along that their talented minstrel was the son of Ivan Fras, mill builder and owner and large landholder after whom a village not far away had been named. But they wanted to keep winning talent contests, making a name for their city and for themselves among the other government officials of other cities in Russia.

Jim's formal lessons were short lived. His association with Ivan the so called "Bourgeois" made it difficult to get a fair shake from the bitter instructors. The violin that Professor Stolarsky himself sent to him from Odessa then was sold for much-needed food to sustain the family. His passion for music and lack of formal training did not dissuade him in the least from becoming a very unique and respected musician, composer and entertainer.

 

                                 The Early Years  -  page two