As every musician knows, your instrument is your most valuable possession. Since I was eleven, the Musical Instrument Fund has provided me with my partner in crime—my violin. To me, that violin is like a friend. You grow up together, sharing your passion, your frustrations, your highs and lows, and the milestones in your career. Sometimes you may grow apart, and that’s when it’s so wonderful that the Musical Instrument Fund gives you the chance to get to know another instrument. It’s so exciting—and so unique—that this is made possible by people who understand exactly how important the instrument is to you.
I currently play the Rocca, Giuseppe Antonio (Trijn 1844). I fell in love with the many facets of this Italian instrument. It can sound intense and robust, but also velvety and with so much nuance! It has everything you could ask for, and I can draw it all out. We’re a perfect match!
As a jazz violinist, improvising over jazz or classical music is second nature to me. That requires a flexible and powerful instrument. But precision and tone color are also important. Ravel’s pastel-hued chords and ingenious, clockwork-like compositions, De Falla’s restrained passion, Bartók’s time signatures and rhythms, Enescu’s clusters—you can hear them all when I improvise. And that calls for an instrument that’s a jack-of-all-trades. I’m so happy with my Rocca from the Musical Instrument Fund!
