JAVS Summer 2021

Feature Article

How It All Began The Founding of the American Viola Society By Dwight Pounds

In accordance with actions by the General Assembly of the VFG on May 22, 1971, in Kassel, a separate section of the VFG for the United States was founded under the name, “Viola Research Society.” Their chairman is Myron Rosenblum, New York, New York, USA. As a result we hope that the work of the VFG in the United States can be considerably intensified. To the extent that this affiliate of the VFG is successful, we can foresee the establishment of additional [international] sections. This brief paragraph, quoted from Newsletter No. 3 of the Viola Forschungs-Gesellschaft (“Viola Research Society,” original name of the organization that became the International Viola Society), marked the creation of what we know today as the American Viola Society ( AVS ). In the following space, I will share the story of the founding of the AVS as we know it today, and examine the primary events—most notably, the viola congresses in the US—that were cornerstones of its early development. The acronyms and terminology no doubt will be confusing to first-time readers or AVS members who were born after the society’s founding. While every effort

will be made to hold these to a bare minimum, some are essential. The VFG refers to the Viola Forschungs Gesellschaft , the first viola organization that endured, founded in Kassel, Germany, in 1968. 1 The English translation of this title would be “Viola Research Society ( VRS ),” and is the exact name given to the American and very first independent section of the VFG. The original membership consisted of Germans, Austrians, Swiss, one Hungarian, and a scattering of Americans who had strong European connections or who happened to be working or studying in Europe at the time, notably Myron Rosenblum, Society Founder and first president. Other prominent American violists listed among the founding and early VFG membership included William Primrose, John Graham, Margaret Farish, Daniel Thomason, and Karen Phillips. The American VRS connection with the VFG remained quite strong after it became an independent section. In 1974 Rosenblum began a series of American Viola Research Society Newsletters , following the VFG format. These publications were quite informative,

Figure 1. A timeline of important events during the early AVS years.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 37, 2021 Online Issue

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