Tag: violin

Bread and Roses Festival rooted in strength, solidarity

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LAWRENCE — Labor Day’s Bread and Roses Heritage Festival will rally in the face of adversity, pull from the past and prepare for the future.

At the 41st festival Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Campagnone North Common, visitors will join circle discussions revolving around strength and solidarity.

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By Terry Date | tdate@eagletribune.com

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August 29, 2025
Alleged violin thief also robbed a bank, prosecutors say, with note that said ‘please’ and ‘thx’

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The violins were expensive — and very, very old.

They included a Caressa & Francais, dated 1913 and valued at $40,000. A $60,000 Gand & Bernardel, dated 1870. And a 200-year-old Lorenzo Ventapane violin, worth $175,000.

For more than two years, federal prosecutors allege, Mark Meng stole high-end violins across the country — ingratiating himself to vendors by posing as a collector who merely wanted to borrow and try them out, then ghosting those vendors and reselling them to an unknowing violin dealer in Los Angeles.

The 57-year-old Irvine man — who also is accused of robbing a bank with a pithy thank-you note and fleeing in a white minivan — now faces charges of wire fraud and bank robbery, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

A man robs the U.S. Bank on Barranca Parkway in Irvine on April 2, demanding $18,000 from the teller.

(Irvine Police Instagram)

The violin scheme, prosecutors allege, ran from August 2020 through April 2023.

During that time, Meng reached out to violin shops, saying he wanted to take the instruments on loan for a trial period to figure out if he wanted to buy them.

He “gained the trust of these stores by representing himself as a collector, and in some cases, he purchased violin bows before asking for violin trial periods,” the complaint reads.

In each encounter, he allegedly kept the instrument beyond the trial-basis period, “provided excuses” for the delay, and negotiated a price for the violin. He then would send the violin shop a check that would bounce — after which he would send a new hot check, pretend he mailed the instrument back and the mailer carrier lost it, or simply stop communicating.

Meng allegedly stole at least four violins, including a 1903 Guilio Degani worth $55,000, as well as a bow by esteemed bow maker François Lotte valued at $7,500.

In October 2023, Meng was questioned by agents from the FBI regarding the stolen violins.

So, prosecutors say, Meng was aware he was under federal investigation when, on April 2, he allegedly robbed a U.S. Bank branch on Barranca Parkway in Irvine.

According to the federal complaint, Meng was wearing latex gloves, a baseball cap, dark sunglasses, a blue bandanna covering the lower half of his face, and a “USA” T-shirt. Prosecutors say he slid a note to the bank teller that read: “$18,000. — Withdraw. Please. Stay Cool! No harm. Thx.”

The teller told prosecutors that he “appeared to be shaking and nervous,” according to the complaint.

When the teller said she did not have access to that much money, he allegedly said: “Give me whatever you have!”

She opened the cash register and gave him $446, the complaint says.

Meng then allegedly fled in a white Toyota Sienna minivan.

A bank employee returning from lunch captured cellphone video footage of Meng entering the vehicle, the complaint says. Footage also was obtained from surveillance cameras.

The U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement that the FBI’s Art Crime Team investigated Meng with assistance from the Irvine and Glendale police departments.

Meng was arrested April 11 by Irvine police. He told a detective that on the day of the robbery, he went to a casino, Starbucks and Costco.

As detectives searched his home, where they found the “USA” T-shirt, a tenant who lived there told police that Meng liked to gamble.

If convicted, Meng would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

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Hailey Branson-Potts

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May 10, 2024
Violin Society of America to Hold Convention & Competition in Anaheim, CA

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Event will be the 48th Annual Convention and the 24th International Competition spotlighting contemporary makers of string instruments and their bows

Press Release
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Nov 3, 2022

ANAHEIM, Calif., November 3, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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Over 350 attendees, 26 speakers, and 60 vendors and sponsors will convene Nov. 13-18 for a week of programming to celebrate string instruments and bow making. This is the first live event of its kind by the Violin Society of America since 2018.

The event culminates on the evening of Nov. 17 with the announcement of winners in the new instrument-making competition. The VSA administers the contest with strict judging standards to identify excellence in artisanship and tone. Over 400 violins, violas, cellos and their bows have been entered by amateur and professional makers, the most in The VSA’s history. A panel of internationally recognized experts will spend four days studying each entry to determine Gold Medal, Silver Medal and Certificates of Merit awards. The awards ceremony will be live-streamed via Instagram and Facebook, followed by a public viewing of the competition instruments on Nov. 18 at the hotel.

“This is one of the most consequential events for violins today,” says Bill Scott, VSA President. “The VSA Competition confirms a new standard in contemporary violin and bow making.”

Other programming themes include:

● Innovation & Sustainability – highlighted with presentations on the future of pernambuco & other endangered tone woods and their emerging alternatives

● Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – featuring a Women’s Luncheon honoring the achievements of female members, and a Diversity Mixer celebrating the recent expansion of the organization’s charter with stronger non-discrimination policies to protect VSA membership and enjoyment for everyone

● Acoustics, varnish, historical instruments & bows and more

Admission is open to the public for $300 for the week plus VSA membership or $115/day.

Musicians interested in viewing instruments and bows from the Competition can do so for free with a VSA Musician’s Pass.

Founded in 1974, The Violin Society of America is a non-profit organization that promotes the art and science of making, repairing and preserving stringed musical instruments and their bows. The VSA holds events, publishes journals, and awards scholarships and grants to expand the field of lutherie. Membership is open to all and includes over 1,000 makers, dealers, players and enthusiasts.

Visit vsaweb.org for more information.

Source: Violin Society of America

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November 3, 2022
MUSIC ACCOMPANIES PEACE – Violinist Creates Music App Free for Students in War-Torn Countries

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ACCOMPANY app is the brainchild of violinist and writer Steven Maloney, a Juilliard graduated music teacher on a mission to share his love for both music and teaching, especially with the victims of war and poverty.

Press Release
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Feb 18, 2016

CHICAGO, IL, February 18, 2016 (Newswire.com)
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ACCOMPANY is the latest classical music education app set to launch in May at accompanymusic.com . The app is the brainchild of violinist and writer Steven Maloney, a music teacher on a mission to share his love for both music and teaching, especially with the victims of war and poverty. The owner of Accompany Music and violinlessonschicago.com, Steven comments: “The idea of practicing along with recorded accompaniment certainly isn’t new, but my setup is innovative. Now the user can employ any mobile device or computer to access thousands of pieces for violin, voice, and other instruments. They choose a piece to work on, they adjust the tempo or repeat difficult sections using loops, and they learn to phrase musically and traditionally–all without any distortion in pitch or sound quality when changing speed.”

Part of Maloney’s zeal to create the ultimate mobile practice tool was his own experience growing up in a small, isolated Texas town.

“The idea of practicing along with recorded accompaniment certainly isn’t new, but my setup is innovative. Now the user can employ any mobile device or computer to access thousands of pieces for violin, voice, and other instruments. They choose a piece to work on, they adjust the tempo or repeat difficult sections using loops, and they learn to phrase musically and traditionally–all without any distortion in pitch or sound quality when changing speed.”

Steven Maloney, Founder, Accompany Music

“Music instruction was frankly dismal and there were certainly no qualified accompanists to work with. You could mail order LP or CD recordings of karaoke-like background accompaniment tracks for a few things, but they were always too fast and you couldn’t adjust the tempo without changing the pitch or sound quality. It was like trying to learn to drive at 90 miles an hour. That was 25 years ago. Since then, digital changed everything and a few products have come out that semi-accurately slow down mp3 files, but the sound quality as a rule is not very good. Some of the newest apps even require “training” the app itself. Now theoretically, even if an app could actually follow–to the millisecond, like the most masterful human accompanist– (I’m talking about your every nuance and stylistic eccentricity warts and all), that might be useful for a very select population of extremely advanced and seasoned performers. For the remaining 99% – it’s best to learn to speed up and slow down in traditionally established places within the music the way a master musician like David Oistrakh or Pablo Casals or Maria Callas would. That requires listening to an accompaniment and following it; that itself takes discipline, not indulgence. In a nutshell: if you’re a kid or adult learning to play an instrument, you don’t need a toy; you need guidance and structure within a useful tool. That’s exactly what Accompany provides. Nothing in the app is automatic or metronomic, either; the piano sound is of the highest quality and sampled from a Steinway grand. The entire recording set up and app design was assisted by a former top-level Apple employee whom I consider a genius. In future we will have orchestral and ensemble accompaniments too. Finally, I’d also like to mention that unlike other apps where you’re paying a few dollars per piece, with Accompany, subscription is only a few pennies per day. Morever, for students in impoverished and war-torn nations, the app with all its content is absolutely free. For the moment, these countries with free service will include (among others) Colombia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Honduras, Syria, Haiti, Sudan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Bolivia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and North Korea.”

From a people perspective, such a concept is, as Bernie Sanders might pronounce, “Yuge“.

To date, ACCOMPANY features music for concertos, sonatas, short pieces, and student works. The product is unique in that it also features complete scale systems in different tunings. etudes, and drones for intonation practice – an idea inspired by noted virtuoso Ruggiero Ricci.

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February 18, 2016