Hello.

Now we are going to meet a violist on our symphonic safari adventure.

Let's go.

Hello.

Hello.

I'm Violetta Vibrato, but you can call me Vi.

Hi Vi.

Hi, what's your name?

I'm Allyson.

Hi, Allyson.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Sure.

Well, as you said, I play the viola.

I'm from Dallas, Texas, and I moved here for school and I teach violin lessons and play with orchestras all around the Florida Panhandle.

That's very exciting.

So my mom told me that I am named after the viola, which made me so excited about meeting you today.

Awesome!

and learning all about the viola, which is her favorite instrument.

Can you teach me a little about the viola, how it works, how you make sounds and how you hold it?

OK, well, viola is a shoulder instrument.

The German word for viola is actually bracha, which means arm, so you hold it in your shoulder.

Yeah.

So there are a couple of things we can do to make sound on the viola.

We can pluck the strings just pretty cool, right?

We can also use our bows, which gives us this sound.

So the string vibrates and creates the sound, and where does the sound come from?

Our lovely F holes, do you see them?

That's where they come from, over there.

Yes.

Yeah.

Mm hmm.

So I heard that you were twelve years old when you started to play.

Why did you decide to play the viola?

Well, it's an interesting story.

I actually wanted to play cello, but my mom said no because I had just quit choir, so she was a little upset with me and she said, nope, because you're just going to quit the cello.

So I went back to the class.

It was like my mom won't let me play cello.

So the teacher was like, well, how about you play the viola who has the same strings as the cello?

Yes.

And it's not the violin, because I knew I didn't want to play the violin, so I went back home with like, Mom, I want to play the viola.

She was like, OK. And I've been playing since.

It's just such a lovely instrument, and I loved the sounds and it is part of the string family of instruments .

Yes.

Yes.

So is it just because it has strings?

Yes, we have strings And we have the bow right, which is another important part.

That is notable.

Hmm.

So you talked about the violin and you said you didn't want to play.

There are a lot of people that confuse the violin and the viola.

I didn't know that because I know what the viola looks like, but a lot of people, when they see them think that they're the same instrument.

But I learned that the viola's lowest string is a C and the highest string is an A which is different than the violin, where the lowest string is a G and the highest string is an E. Yes.

Correct.

I learned that.

But I want to hear the strings sounds of the viola, will you play those for me?

So the lowest being the C. And then our highest is the A.

Can you pluck them and I can hear them?

Yeah, so C. And then A. I like that.

Do you get to travel a lot as a musician?

I do.

Being a freelance musician, I'm kind of on the road every other weekend.

That's really exciting.

Where have you traveled to and what is like the furthest place that you've ever traveled?

Oh, the furthest.

OK, so the furthest I've been is China.

Oh, that's exciting.

That's like on the other side of the world.

Mm hmm.

Where in China?

I went to Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an, it was back in undergrad for an orchestral tour that is so exciting.

What was the very first piece that you learned to play on the viola?

Hmm.

I would say hot cross buns.

Can you play that for me?

Sure.

Let's see.

That was a long time ago.

Let's see.

That was a long time ago because you said you were twelve years old when you started playing, and you must have to practice a lot to sound that good.

How often do you practice?

I try now.

At least five days a week, because usually the weekends I'm playing somewhere.

Yeah.

So three, four hours a day.

That is a lot, but that's what makes you sound so good.

Now, if somebody said, will, you, Allyson, play your most favorite piece of music, what would it be?

Hmm.

Let's see.

I think it would be a movement from the Schumann fairy tales.

Can you play that?

I don't know that at all.

Sure.

OK. What did you think?

That was amazballs!

That was lovely, and I could tell as you're playing it how passionate you are, like I can feel your energy going into the viola while you were playing, what would you say to somebody like me who might be interested in learning to play the viola?

Do it.

Do it and keep going.

It's just so beautiful, and I love watching in the orchestra, all of the violas playing and there's a lot of them.

What is their role in the orchestra of the viola?

So the violas, their special right?

Because we are the middle voice.

If you think about choirs.

Yes, you have soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

So we're the altos, and sometimes we can function as the melody.

And then most of the times we function as the harmony, so we make the melody sound better.

I like that, and you're really versatile too that way.

Mm-Hmm.

That is notable.

So I've heard of something called double stops, is that something that you do in the orchestra too?

Sometimes you see it more in solo pieces like this one, so double stops are where you play two notes at the same time.

So the opening here?

Well, most of this is double stops, so I play an A and F together.

And then the same thing.

That does sound so different.

I really like that.

So I know that we talked about orchestras.

Do you have a most favorite piece that you like to play a most favorite orchestral piece that you play in?

Can I hear it?

Sure.

Yes.

OK, so my favorite is the second movement of Beethoven Five.

So what's special about this movement is that the violas and the cellos open it up.

We play all by ourselves together.

Yes, that's really cool.

Can I hear it?

Yes.

Yes.

And so what's also really cool about this piece is that we get the melody and then we get it again, but in a different way.

It's called a variation, so I'll play you one of those as well.

Oh, that is so beautiful.

You know what I noticed?

It's very different when I watch an orchestra.

Everybody is sitting down, but watching you standing up and playing and you're moving into the music and moving away and moving into the music.

And it makes it so exciting to see that movement, too, while you're standing up, which is so different.

So one of the questions that I've been asking a lot to the musicians is what sound do you think your instrument most sounds like?

An animal, an animal Hmm.

So I know in orchestras and different pieces, you've been depicted as birds but there's another piece where we have to bark like a dog and but I think the coolest is when we get to be a panther It's the Pink Panther!

The Pink Panther!

I know that, that was lovely.

I also know that you actually are playing with an animal, right, there's horse hair on that.

Yes.

This is the horse hair.

It's from their tails.

That's an amazing thing that I've even thought to note about.

Quick questions, their called rapid fire questions just to learn a little about yourself Just answer them right off the top of your head.

Donuts or cupcakes?

Oh, cupcakes.

Me too, hike or bike?

Hike Summer or winter?

Definitely winter.

Movies out or movies in?

In.

Pizza or tacos?

Tacos.

Hand down.

It has been so lovely talking to you, Allyson.

Been great to talk to you too!

Thank you for joining us on our symphonic safari adventure.

Bye.

Bye.

Till next time.

Bye.