Welcome to the Family

Introducing my new and upgraded quality viola — Minerva! (Named after the Roman goddess of wisdom and art; tip of the hat to Miguel!)

I visited the Los Angeles Violin Shop and became acquainted with Danny Oh and Dan Hooper. I LOVED chatting with them: they’re down to earth guys, who will tell it straight, and who clearly have a knowledgable passion for strings!!! And they want to share that passion with others, too! 🙂 That’s what I LOVE about them and their shop!

So, I finally had a brilliant idea, because my Old-Man-Violin Tommy, the violin I had growing up with (playing on it since I was 13 years old through undergrad college), had been just sitting around in my closet for the most part of his retirement since I’d upgraded to my truly Beloved Flora. Now, Tommy had gotten some air being loaned out to a couple of students here and there over the years, but nobody was ready to claim him for their own… So back in the closet he went… He’s got a lot going for him, and I tried selling him to shops, but nobody was buying in this economy…

After moving out here to Valencia, I finally had an Ah-Ha moment, and set about investigating the possibility of trading in Tommy (with case and bow) along with my cheapy viola (with case and two bows) – to get an upgrade in a good-quality, performable viola, something I wouldn’t be embarrassed or wracked with pain playing for gigs…

Danny worked out a fabulous deal for me, and took Tommy and the cheap viola under his wing. I’m so happy that Tommy will be getting a new lease on life! AND, I’m so happy to welcome the Beautiful Minerva into my Fiddle Family!! She is truly a delight to play!

In fact, on Sunday, July 14th, at 2pm, I’ll be participating in an educational performance at the Sam Maloof Museum with local violin maker Jim Brown, and I’ll get to present a host of short works on all three of my “Babies” — I’ll be playing the Corelli Allegro (mvt. 3 from his Violin Sonata No. 1), the Thais Meditation, and my own charming work “Oppression” on Flora; and I’ll be accompanying Jim Brown’s voice on the aria Vecchia zimarra from Puccini’s La Boheme on the new viola Minerva; and I’ll even get to whip out “Personal Echo” on Aisling and my new delay pedal! It promises to be a really fun and informative show!