A letter from the owner
This letter was written years ago in 2017 when we first opened our doors.
A Letter from the Owner (June 4th, 2017)
Dear Augusta and local residents,
Antique Violins of Augusta started as a community service “project” back in October 2016. I had the crazy idea of fixing up old violins – first having a luthier restore them, then, over time, hopefully I'd learn how to restore them myself. I wanted to see old, neglected violins be brought back to life. So a plan formed in my mind to restore antique violins, sell them, and should one sell, donate the proceeds to local music programs, maybe even make a tiny profit from “flipping” violins if I could. Though in the end, what I really wanted was to create and build something beautiful and to restore objects, that were once beautiful, to their former glory.
Building something beautiful had several meanings for me. On one hand I wanted to cherish and restore antique violins – violins considered by both players and luthiers alike to not be worth the time and money to restore. Indeed, I was told that many violins I had acquired were not worth the time and money to restore. I wanted to restore them anyway, even if it didn’t yield any “profit”, and so, in the end, I paid to have them restored. The result is that now, violins that were once asleep, are now awakened. Now they sing just as beautifully as I’m sure they once did. There are fewer sounds on this planet that are sweeter than that of an aged violin. In fact, many do believe the aging of wood produces a positive effect on the sound of a violin. Still today, the most prized violins are those from the 16th – 18th centuries.
In a more abstract sense of “building something beautiful”, I wanted to create something that would serve a greater purpose. It meant building something that would benefit the local community of Augusta, and something that would help local children get involved in the study of stringed instruments.
The local string programs seemed, on the surface, to be greatly underfunded, underappreciated, and undervalued. More than once, I was told during my journey through all this, by kids, “I wish my school had orchestra.” Orchestra programs, with careful budgeting, do not have to be expensive. Part time teachers can be hired, and instruments can be obtained often for as low as $20 a month.
Though, the more I learned about the area’s local string programs, the more I saw how much the community was doing to help along string programs, even when the local, state or federal government, or school board could only do so much, if anything at all; and I know that when any kind of financial trouble occurs with schools, arts programs are always one of the first programs to lose funding.
I am sure many officials and ordinary people work very hard to ensure a great education is provided to local students, but more needs to be done. Orchestra programs are something that should be accessible and affordable to every student, and we will always strive to promote this cause, recycling our earnings back into the community.
Now, about myself and Antique Violins of Augusta as it is in its current state, and where it’s going. My name is Jonathan, and I was brought to Augusta by the military. I’ve been living here for several years and I intend on staying here for the longer term; and as long as I’m here I will do my best to better the local community that I am a part of. Creating and fostering community is very important to me, and a strong community is something everyone needs. Also, as long as I am securely employed, I will seek to take the earnings from this business and recycle it back into to the community. That is what makes this business different – that doing good in the world and for children is our priority, not money. (Though, of course we need to make revenue to stay in business, so making revenue is of course important.)
With the help of Nathaniel Bruner, Phin Hitchcock, Gregg Lange, friends, family, and God, Antique Violins of Augusta has now become a venue that can provide a myriad of orchestral services to the local area. That includes providing rental instruments, instruments for sale, free violin lessons, repair services, and much more. Any product related to the violin family of instruments can be ordered if it is not in stock, at very competitive prices because of our low overhead. We will even price match online prices is most cases. In many cases, as in the selling of instruments, we can beat online prices, which we see as our main competitor. We are renting instruments at affordable rates, and we will provide as many free lessons as we can.
So please! See what we can do you for you before you go anywhere else, especially online! We are growing constantly, but we cannot continue our growth or stay afloat without the support of our community, so please come get to know us, support local business, and help us and your community by purchasing something both special and priceless – a musical education that builds character, encourages children, and an education that teaches children to be better individuals through music and to strive for their highest potential in life.
Sincerely,
Jonathan
