See the full article here: http://www.allthingsstrings.com/Gear/MORE/Tis-the-Season-for-Mahler-Sentimental-Memories
Favorite Gift
Favorite Gift
Vice president of marketing at Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and Fusion String founder, violinist Abe Dewing recalls receiving an instrument as a favorite gift. “My violin was a gift purchased during my sophomore year in high school and paid for by my grandmother. I had just completed my first season in repertory of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. Each year we had to re-audition, so I was really nervous. I made friends whom I really connected with, so I looked forward to another season of playing with them. For added pressure, my parents had a musical plan for me when I joined BYSO: spend two years in repertory and two years in senior orchestra during high school. My memory of the audition was nonexistent. “Mail day came, I remembered opening a thick envelope, which was usually good news back then, and saw I had been accepted for the new season. I jumped for joy and read on about a tour that summer. I thought to myself, wait repertory is going to tour? Only the senior orchestra tours. My a-ma (grandmother in Taiwanese) was so proud of me that she set aside $1,000 to pick out my very own violin and bow. This signified my first real commitment in something I would enjoy in life, whether if it was professional or not. My a-ma recognized that and showed her support by allowing me to own my violin. To this day, I use it forpracticing, rehearsals, and concerts. My violin has traveled with me to five different countries on two continents. It hasn’t changed much in these years but how much I appreciate it has. Thank you, a-ma!”
Wish List
Dewing is hoping to receive a viola this year. “The tone of this instrument is so rich, like sweet molasses. My connection to it has grown over the years. It would be great to own a viola. Each time I play, it would quickly remind me how much music has influenced my life and my family in more ways than I ever would have imagined,” says Dewing, who created a chamber group just to get to know his now-wife better (he boldly volunteered to play viola, when he never had before).
Wish List
Dewing is hoping to receive a viola this year. “The tone of this instrument is so rich, like sweet molasses. My connection to it has grown over the years. It would be great to own a viola. Each time I play, it would quickly remind me how much music has influenced my life and my family in more ways than I ever would have imagined,” says Dewing, who created a chamber group just to get to know his now-wife better (he boldly volunteered to play viola, when he never had before).
