Violin auction will aid symphony orchestra

Monday, August 28, 2006 The painted instruments are on display at The Galleria in Richland Township through Tuesday. JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Fourteen violins and violas have been on tour since October, but not a single note has been played. The old instruments, most of them unusable for music anymore, have been resurrected by local artists in "Violin Masterpieces," a fundraiser for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. The painted instruments are on display in the former Nature's Habitat storefront window at The Galleria in Richland Township through Tuesday. The violins have been on display at The Galleria all summer, said Dorothy Maravalli, a symphony board member who has been caretaker of the instruments along with her husband, Camille, a Johnstown ophthalmologist. This will be the violins' last performance before they are auctioned off at the symphony's opera festival Sept. 16 at the Pasquerilla Conference Center, 301 Napoleon St. in downtown Johnstown. "We're going to close bidding on Aug. 31," Maravalli said. "Bids have been taken. The pre-auction bids will establish the opening bids. The bidders also have the option to increase their bid." Pre-auction bids may be made online at www.johnstownsymphony.org. Silent and live At the opera festival, the violins, which have generated considerable interest, will be part of silent and live auctions. "The live auction will be limited to 12 items because of time constraints," Maravalli said. "The silent auction will be set up during the festival. It's quite large, with many other items." The violins started their tour at Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center in the Cambria City section of Johnstown in October and have traveled to Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, Laurel Arts in Somerset and Community Arts Center of Cambria County in Westmont. They also made two guest appearances at symphony concerts in December and May. The instruments are transported in violin cases or boxes, for those that have been extended in size. "We set them up and take them down, too," Maravalli said. "They've been well received. The one by Ken Cotlar can still be played." This was an exciting and challenging project for the artists, and it took some time for them to decide what they would paint. "All the artists were happy to be involved," Maravalli said. "They gave of their time and talents, and their finished works are something to enjoy." Maravalli said that Shirley Gaynor's "Flying Jewels" was likely the last thing she ever painted. Gaynor died in April. "It's nice to have it as a tribute to her," Maravalli said. More names Other artists and their violin masterpieces are Glenn Brougher, "The Flight of the Bumblebee"; Ruth Brown, "Wild Notes"; Peter Calaboyias, "The Flying Viola"; Ken Cotlar, "Celestial Strings"; Marcene Glover, "Ribbons for Strings" Cozette Hupkovich, "Harmonious Flamingos"; Marianne Krizner, "Life on the Volga"; Judy Musser, "A Tribute to Marc Chagall"; Rich Newill, "Rosebud"; Scott Steberger, "Landscape on Viola"; Sally Stewart, "The Four Seasons"; Helen Thorne, "Under the Sea"; and Mary Wiley-Lewis, "The Color of Music." Between appearances, the violins have found a home with the Maravallis, who choose one or two at a time to be displayed for their own pleasure. "We'll miss them," Maravalli said. "We will definitely own one, we just don't know which one. My auction committee has become enamored by them." The violins are true multimedia pieces, symphony Executive Director Patricia Hofscher said. "Most people have never seen anything like them," she said. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.