Thank You Notes

Tuesday evening I attended a small appreciation 

dinner for volunteers working with the Indianapolis 

Symphony Orchestra. We were entertained by

members of the ISO, four women who are long-time

members of the orchestra's string section.

The blurry photos show musician Amy Kniffen's viola. 

Other guests were as intrigued by the shape of her viola as I was.
She told us that the maker, Hiroshi Iizuka, based the look 
and construction of his instruments on the viol family 

of instruments of the 16th Century, rather than 

those of the 17th Century whose shapes 

are more familiar to us. The distinctive shoulders 

on her viola, as well as it's curved bottom, 

help to make it easier to play.