JAVS Fall 2011

of what makes playing the viola neat is knowing about others’ love and excitement for it. The inspira tion that comes from the archive is provided in at least two ways. The first and most obvious is that it is a shrine to those who dedicated a portion of their lives to loving the viola. The second, and maybe not so-obvious, is that it is a catalyst for present-day vio lists to meet each other and talk about their excite ment for the viola.” In the fall of 2005, Jennifer Call Halverson began working on an honors thesis about the Primrose cor respondence. She received an ORCA grant to contin ue her research and funding to present at the interna tional viola congress in Montreal in 2006. Jen taught orchestra in the public schools for several years and now has a small studio and is principal violist for the American Fork (utah) Symphony. Jennifer says, “By working in the archive, I gained a better appreciation of those who came before. Thanks to Tertis, Primrose, and others, the viola has become the solo instrument

it is. I can have a studio of violists who started on viola (not switched from violin) because the viola has become more widely known.” Tally Turner , as a graduate student in viola perform ance at Byu, received an ORCA grant in 2006–2007 to organize Maurice Riley’s materials that came to PIVA upon his death. Tally read letters, identified pic tures, sorted books and scores and research materials, wrote an article that appeared in JAVS vol. 24, no. 2, and presented at the 36th International Viola Congress in Tempe, Arizona, in 2008. Tally now lives in Seattle, Washington, where she is employed in the office of the Seattle Symphony, plays in a regional orchestra, and is establishing a private viola studio. She feels that, through her work in PIVA, she has gained a really good understanding of the history of the viola in the united States. Tally says, “I gained so much more respect for Maurice Riley and better understood the sweat and toil that went into

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