Hepzebah is Back

Hepzebah Groshvenor is the name I gave to my excellent English viola which I bought in 1974 when I was a student in Milwaukee. Some people name their precious possessions - cars, boats, homes, musical instruments. Hepzebah is a wonderful viola. She is well liked by anyone who hears her or touches her. Her value has multiplied since I bought her. When we lived in Korea I had her along, but I did not use her at all. I always played and taught violin at that time and eventually was very tempted to sell the viola just because I didn’t use it. A violin dealer offered me $15,000. It was such a quick offer that I was suspicious it may be too low. So I didn’t sell. Then I met a Korean man retired from Baltimore Symphony viola section. He thought he could sell my viola to his student for $20,000, so he borrowed it to show to his student. That deal fell through because it was just at the time of the Asian money crisis about 1996 or -97. Suddenly all Koreans of necessity became much tighter with their money. Now I’m very glad I didn’t lose my viola. As soon as we returned to the USA and southern IL in 2000, I immediately found many uses for viola again - in orchestras, ensembles and teaching. Still violin is more versatile and a little easier to carry around, so when we decided to make a better living by becoming truckers, I did not want to tote my viola around the country on a truck. She is too valuable to be living on a truck with the possibility of anything happening to her. And it is not good for a fine instrument to be left at home in a cold house never to be played. The first few months, I left her with Larry, my brother-in-law, so that at least she would be in a heated house where people are living every day. At that time Peggy and I were out on the truck for 6-8 weeks at a time and only home a few days between trips. After seeing that Hepzebah was not really safe in Larry’s house, just sitting in a corner of the living room with who-knows-who passing through and perhaps opening the case to see what was inside, I decided to ask our very responsible, highly ethical, musical, Christian friends in Milwaukee, the Holdmanns to keep my viola. Their son Luke plays viola and could use my lovely instrument for the time being. Luke has his own viola to carry to school day to day, but would use mine for concerts and to play at home. He used it his last 2 years of high school and won a full tuition music scholarship to U.W.-Milwaukee. He is now a college freshman, majoring in architecture, living at home and benefiting from that scholarship - free tuition and free viola lessons from a music faculty member, and he plays in the university symphony. I finally got my viola back a week ago. It was time to have her back, since our trucking schedule and our lives have settled down to where I am back into orchestra playing, which I had to give up when we started trucking. Now I need Hepzebah for Paducah Symphony. Last weekend was my first concert with Hepzebah. I had asked our friend Floyd to pick up my viola in Milwaukee whenever he passed through there, since we seldom get up that way. I have a cheap viola as a back-up. I had been using that one as soon as I rejoined the orchestra last season, but it’s not the same. That viola doesn’t have a name. Hepzebah and I have been through a lot of music together. I will never leave her again, except that she will outlive me and will eventually move on to a new owner…