This month marks the twenty-second year I have played the violin. That's well over 10,000 hours of practice in my lifetime! Thanks to my parents and teachers who provided hundreds of violin lessons and never lost faith in my determination to become a professional violinist, I am where I am today – just graduated from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University with my third degree in Violin Performance, having studied with some of the foremost teachers and performers in the world, and now performing frequently with orchestras across the U.S.

This summer I came to a turning point in my career. My teacher Jorja Fleezanis, the retired concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, told me it was time to find a new violin. I had played for her as well as Glen Dicterow, the recently retired concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, and they both felt that my current violin was holding me back. It was incapable of projecting a big sound, and my musical expression was being limited by the modest range of tonal colors it possessed. I lost two orchestra auditions this summer for that very reason! The orchestra world has become extremely competitive (sometimes three-hundred musicians apply for one job opening) and if I were to compete with these musicians, I needed a violin upgrade!

So this August the daunting hunt for a new violin began! I visited six of the most reputable dealers in Boston and Manhattan, and played more violins than I care to count. Some violins had a huge sound, but lacked sweetness. Others had a sweet sound, but lacked projection. And many of them just didn't come close to the high standard I had set for them. On the sixth day of the hunt, I visited the world-leading dealer Florian Leonhard in Manhattan. He set out eight instruments he wanted me to try, and upon playing the first I could immediately tell he had good taste in violins. There was one violin, however, that stood out from the others.

It was a violin built in 1862 by the preeminent French luthier Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. It had come into the shop just the week before, on consignment for a violinist who recently retired from the London Philharmonic. This violin could project, and the sound was sweet and clear. It was everything that violinists of the highest caliber look for in an instrument. I compared it with violins millions of dollars more expensive, and it held its own. I told the dealer this was the one, and after settling on the terms he let me take it home on trial! Since then I have played it for many colleagues and teachers, and they all agree this instrument is the real deal (hear for yourself below!).

Mozart Sonata in A Major K. 305: Theme and Variations

Bach Sonata in G Minor BWV 1001: Adagio

Unfortunately great instruments are not inexpensive – this violin is $200,000. But a great instrument like this is the key to the propulsion of my career. It would enable me to play with greater expression, project more effortlessly, and push my artistry to an even higher level, giving me a significant advantage in orchestra auditions. 

I will be using the proceeds here to go towards the purchase of the new violin. Please share this campaign on Facebook and for more information on this exciting project, visit williamronning.com.

Thanks for your support!

William