I was too old to be a child prodigy on the fiddle, for I didn't take up the bow until I was 36 years of age. Fortunately, my patient teacher, violinist Peter Miller, a.ka. Professor Fairbanks, http://www.professorfairbanks.com/, taught me how to read music and saw those strings well enough so that my playing no longer sounds like a strangled cat.
As an artist, I also appreciated the aesthetic appeal of the violin as a sculptural object as well. I began restoring broken old fiddles, and ones that were too far gone were turned into sculptures. Below is a mini-Rococo Style chair I made from the remains of just such an old violin. It was sold at an auction to raise money for the Vermont Youth Orchestra.
If you would like to do a fiddling jam session with me, email me at brunelles3@aol.com
