Finding Connection: The Voice of the Viola
Photo Courtesy: Jennifer Preece
A Mother-Daughter Viola Journey from Utah to Vermont
For many young musicians, the transition from one instrument to another is a tentative experiment. But for Zoey Pilling, a talented multi-instrumentalist, and her mother Jennifer Pilling, that experiment turned into a profound musical connection—all thanks to a 13-inch instrument that travelled halfway across the country from Vermont to Utah.
There are moments when parenthood surprises you. When your teenager discovers an instrument that wasn't even on their radar, the entire trajectory shifts. For Jennifer and her daughter Zoey, that moment came in 2024, when a 13-inch viola arrived from Vermont Violins—a single rental that transformed not just Zoey's musical path, but the entire family's relationship with music.
Zoey’s first time holding a violin
Zoey had been playing violin since she was four years old. By eleven, she knew she wanted to add the viola. The problem wasn't the desire — it was the instrument. In all of Utah, she could barely find a 13-inch viola available to rent. And the one she did find didn't sound like a viola at all.
Zoey enjoying her violin on vacation in Montana at 9 years old
This is the story of how a teacher's (Dr. LeeAnn Morgan) offhand memory of a conference, a long-distance rental from Vermont, and a small instrument with a genuine voice changed the course of Zoey's musical journey — and why her mother Jennifer believes she wouldn't be playing viola today without it.
The Pull Toward the Viola
For Zoey, the draw to the viola started early. Growing up with an older brother who played cello, she was already attuned to the lower, warmer registers of the string family. When she first heard the viola, it was a rich, velvety tone somewhere between the brightness of the violin and the depth of the cello — something clicked.
Photo with her brothers
"The thing that inspired me to start viola was the beautiful, rich tone. And also hearing my older brother play cello."
After a lobby performance at Abravanel Hall at 8 years old and At colorado suzuki institute at 10 years old
She had been a serious violin student for nearly a decade. At eleven, she was already on the path toward auditioning for the Gifted Music School Conservatory program in Salt Lake City — a full scholarship, pre-college intensive program comparable to the pre-college programs at Juilliard or the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The viola wasn't meant to replace the violin. It was meant to be something new, something to explore.
"At first, she didn't know if she actually wanted to play it or not. So, we didn't want to purchase one — obviously, that's a big investment to make when you're not sure about something."
The Gap That Shouldn't Exist
What followed was a quiet frustration that many parents of young string players know too well but rarely talk about openly. In the world of stringed instruments, the small viola — 13 inches, 14 inches — is a problem that the industry has largely ignored. Young players who aren't yet ready for a full-sized instrument are stuck with a poor substitute: a violin restrung with viola strings, handed off as though the difference doesn't matter.
Jennifer started looking. There were almost no rental options in their area. The one shop that did have something resembling a rental program had extremely limited selection — and what they carried didn't pass the most basic test: sounding like an actual viola.
"When I first started with the 13 inches from our local shop, it didn't resonate at all. It didn't have any really good sound. A lot of people recommended restringing a violin, but I wanted a real viola."
A restrung violin is not a viola. It doesn't have the body depth, the string length, or the acoustic construction that produces the viola's characteristic warmth. For a student who was drawn to the instrument specifically for its tone, starting on a workaround wasn't just inadequate — it was discouraging.
A Teacher's Memory and a Name from Vermont
It was Zoey's teacher, Dr. LeeAnn Morgan, who shifted everything. She remembered hearing about a company — at a conference, years earlier — that made small violas that were actually built like violas. Not restrung violins. Real instruments, in small sizes, with the sound to match.
"Our teacher said, 'I remember hearing about this one company a long time ago at a conference I went to. I think they are called Vermont Violins. Look them up and see if they will ship to you."
So, they looked. And what they found was something they had not been able to locate anywhere else: a rental program that offered a genuinely high-quality instrument in a small size, and that was willing to ship to a family in Utah.
"They were the only places we could find that offered both a high-quality instrument and a rental."
First concert with her V Richelieu Viola
Vermont Violins, the home of V. Richelieu instruments, had long built small violas — 13-inch and 14-inch — as true instruments, not afterthoughts. Each one is crafted in Vermont with the same principles as the full-sized models: proper body proportions, genuine viola acoustics, and the kind of tonal character that gives a young player something real to work with from day one.
Shipping Across the Country — and What Arrived
Renting an instrument from a shop nearly two thousand miles away might sound complicated. For Jennifer, it turned out to be the opposite.
"Even with us living all the way in Utah, being able to rent and have that process be so easy and intuitive — that is just so incredibly helpful. We have three kids who play string instruments. It was expensive. Just knowing that there is an option out there — it takes a lot of stress off."
When the 13-inch V. Richelieu arrived, Zoey picked it up and played it. The difference was immediate.
"When I got my first V. Richelieu from Vermont Violins, I was so happy — because it sounded like an actual viola. Even though it was only a 13 inch. It gave me the richness I was looking for."
That detail — even though it was only a 13 inch — carries a lot of meaning. The assumption in much of the string world is that small violas cannot really sound like violas. That you have to wait until a player is big enough for a full-sized instrument before they get genuine experience. Zoey's first V. Richelieu challenged that assumption directly.
Why Quality at the Start Matters
Jennifer, herself a pianist, had watched three children move through the early stages of string playing. She had learned something important along the way: the instrument you start on shapes not just your sound, but your willingness to stay.
"The higher quality instrument you start on, the better that sound is right from day one. It is less frustrating for the students and it's a more pleasant experience for those of us who are listening to them practice. The better sound the instrument is capable of making, the better."
With her Chamber Coach at Chamber Festival last year
Zoey echoes this from the player's perspective, with the authority of someone who knows what both sides of that equation feel like.
"You want to start with a high-quality instrument, because it can help you learn how to produce good sounds."
Renting rather than purchasing also gave the family room to let the process unfold naturally. Zoey began on the 13-inch, and when she was ready, moved to a 14-inch. She's currently not yet ready for a full 15-inch instrument — and that's precisely the point. The rental program allowed her to progress without gaps, without pressure, and without the wrong instrument standing between her and the sound she was after.
"I doubt she would be playing viola right now without these instruments, because there just wasn't anything out there that was good in these sizes for her. Approaching viola younger, with a really good instrument, has been really fantastic."
Beyond the Sheet Music: Life with Four Instruments
While the viola has become her primary voice, Zoey’s musical life is much broader than a single instrument. Her days are a rhythm of structured conservatory rehearsals and personal exploration. In addition to viola and violin, Zoey plays piano and is teaching herself guitar via YouTube for the sheer joy of it. She spends her Fridays and full Saturdays at the conservatory, playing in an active chamber group and orchestra.
Music serves a grounded purpose in her daily life.
"If I'm in a really bad mood and I just want to get mad at people, it calms me down like crazy,” Zoey admits. “It really does. It brings me a lot of joy."
A Decision That Changed Direction
Zoey with her V. Richelieu Viola. Photo Courtesy: Jennifer Preece
Something unexpected happened as Zoey grew into the instrument. What started as an experiment became a passion — and a commitment that reshaped her entire musical trajectory.
Zoey had been planning to audition for the Gifted Music School Conservatory program on violin. Her teacher, Dr. LeeAnn Morgan, watching her connection to the viola deepen, encouraged her to consider auditioning on both instruments. She did. She was accepted on both.
"I thought the viola was going to be supplementary — but I quickly realized it was the instrument I was truly connecting with. I loved my viola so much that I decided to audition for both."
Performing at the Bach in the Subways concert last week - Posted March 2026
Jennifer remembers the moment she saw it click for Zoey — not in a rehearsal, not at a lesson, but in the music itself.
"When she started learning about her audition concerto, how excited she was about the music — she just loved it so much. And I don't know if she's ever connected with a violin piece in the same way. It was so fun to see her truly start to connect with an instrument and get really excited about the music written for it."
Zoey’s "experiment" with the viola has officially shifted her trajectory. This passion has already led to meaningful connections. Zoey recently participated in an outreach concert for the "Bach in the Subway" project and is currently preparing for a spring recital with a close violinist friend.
"Many of the people I've met in the music world live further away from me, and I wouldn't have had a chance to get to know them otherwise," Zoey says. "When you are making music with people, it is easy to make connections with them."
Zoey playing her 14 inch V. Richelieu Viola
As for the future? She is keeping her options open.
"I've considered doing music therapy, playing in a professional orchestra, or continuing in chamber music," she says. "I don't know yet if music will be my career, but I want it to stay part of my life."
On Success, Competition, and What Music Is Actually For
The world of advanced string playing can be intensely competitive — seating positions, audition outcomes, competition rankings. Both Zoey and Jennifer have thought carefully about how to hold that pressure without letting it distort what music is fundamentally about.
"For a lot of people, success means getting the best grades or winning competitions. I don't really care about any of those things. It's fun and making connections with other people. I love being able to work hard and then share my music with people."
Enjoying her Viola at lessons
Jennifer, a pianist herself, views her role as a support system rather than a coach. Jennifer has consciously cultivated this orientation in her home — not as a rejection of ambition, but as a clarification of what ambition in music should serve.
"I think there’s a lot of being willing to let go of your expectations as a parent. Stay focused on the fact that music makes us better as humans. Learning to define success with personal achievement rather than external factors is something we really, really try to do in our home. We always keep our mindset on: what can we learn from this experience? Does this give us motivation to work harder? Does it push us to the next level?"
Jennifer Pilling and Zoey Pilling
"I want music to be something that enriches their life. It doesn't mean that you have to pursue it professionally. You can still be a really great musician and have really great training and have that enrich your life without pursuing it professionally."
What Zoey Would Tell a Player Just Starting Out
Warming up before a music festival at 10 years old
For anyone standing at the beginning of a string journey — or supporting someone who is — Zoey has one piece of advice that she returns to again and again, spoken with the quiet certainty of someone who has lived it.
"Practice. Even if you don't want to practice, practice. All of that work is worth it."
And on the question of the instrument itself:
"For music, I want people to love the viola — and the more beautiful I can get it to sound, the more people will like it."
Closing Notes
There is a specific problem that rarely gets named in the world of string education: the small viola gap. Players who come to the instrument young, or who are simply not yet physically ready for a full-sized instrument, are routinely handed something inadequate — a restrung violin masquerading as a viola, or an entry-level rental that produces none of the warmth that made them want to play in the first place.
Zoey's story is, in part, a story about what happens when that gap gets filled. When a 11-year-old in Utah can access a 13-inch viola that genuinely sounds like one — rented from a shop in Vermont and shipped to her door — the outcome is not just a better sound. It is an entirely different musical future.
"I doubt she would be playing viola right now without these instruments."
That sentence carries the full weight of what Vermont Violins and V. Richelieu are working to solve. Not just instrument sales or rental programs — but the quiet, unglamorous work of making sure that when a young player reaches for an instrument, there is actually something worthy of their reach.
Zoey playing her V. Richelieu Viola. Photo Courtesy: Jennifer Preece
A Note on Sustainability
Zoey's V. Richelieu features a GaiaTone fingerboard — an ebony alternative developed by Vermont Violins, made from recycled paper. Vermont Violins is the first FSC-certified string instrument company in the world, and every V. Richelieu instrument is built with sustainable materials from responsibly sourced wood. Choosing a V. Richelieu is both a musical choice and an environmental one.
Zoey and Jennifer's journey have been supported by Vermont Violins' rental program, which ships quality instruments across the country — including small violas in sizes rarely found elsewhere. If you are beginning your own string journey, or supporting a young musician who is, you can learn more about Vermont Violins' rental program and V. Richelieu instruments at vermontviolins.com and www.vrichelieu.com.
Interested in starting — or restarting — your own musical journey? Visit Vermont Violins in South Burlington, VT or Lebanon, NH to speak with our team about renting or purchasing a V. Richelieu instrument. We'd love to help you find yours.
Contact us at info@vrichelieu.com to learn more.
