A musical question

I have a violin. No, don't worry, I don't attempt to play it. It's
quite a nice violin, came down to me through the family by some
route. I had it restored a couple of years ago, and the restorer's
opinion is that it's good enough to get a student to Grade 8, if not
for professional use.

Laura had lessons on it for a bit, but she's unlikely to be using it
for at least the next couple of years. Given that such instruments do
best when they're played regularly, I need to find someone else to
play it.

I don't want to sell it. What I'd like to do is find some deserving
student to lend it to long-term, but in a way that I can be sure it's
being looked after - I've heard various tales of loan instruments
provided by schools having a hard life.

Has anyone done anything like this, or have any knowledge of how it
might be done?

 

When I used to play with Southampton Youth Orchestra the Hampshire Music
Service ran an instrument loan service a bit like you describe.
Whereabouts are you?

 

Thornbury, north of Bristol.

 

You think the latter will look after it?

 

Google "grooming"

 

Bristol Youth Orchestra? There must be summut nearby?

(currently listening to Apocalyptica - Nothing Else Matters. The
rellevance, whose nose?) In a darkish mood...

 

Find a good violin teacher and ask them.

 

I'd probably contact Bristol Arts & Music Service then.

If you're worried about it being destroyed, try and aim for the youth
orchestras rather than the schools, assuming it's a good enough
instrument. Generally a violin would be given to a single person to use
rather than being a shared instrument. People don't like to swap between
instruments because each one plays differently. So people do tend to
look after them.

It's big stuff like percussion, double basses, harps, or strange wind
instruments like contrabassoon and cor anglais that get knocked about.