The Few, The Proud, The Violas: The State of the Union

This lecture provides an overview of the current state of the viola world from both practical and psycho-sociological viewpoints. This draws upon research from my PhD thesis (2026), which utilizes ethnographic data and a constructivist-interpretivist approach to identify and assess key issues within today’s viola world across a range of themes, including perceptions, repertoire, pedagogy, stereotypes, jokes, health, identity, personality, instrument construction, and more. For this study I collected data from sixty participants through interviews, observations, and questionnaires – including one distributed to AVS Festival attendees in 2022. The participants cover a sizeable array of perspectives, such as young viola students, university students, professors, schoolteachers, performers, and other key informants with unique positions in the viola community. In this lecture, I will present each theme, drawing upon scholarly literature alongside my own data. Where problems are identified, I will provide potential solutions aided by this evidence. By the end of the lecture, I will have provided a thorough picture of what our viola world is like today – much like a State of the Union address.