It all started with an instrument in the window.
A few years ago, American musician Dylan Fixmer, composer-in-residence at the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra (Colorado), bought a violin that had been eyeing him for a while.
The instrument is stunted, worn and peeled by the years, but not without charm.
Adopted and restored, the violin comes back to life with the artist who spends his mornings playing it.
One fine day, finally, Dylan Fixmer notices a small hidden compartment in the body of the instrument.
A business card and various papers inside reveal the identity of its previous owner: Terri Sternberg.
A seasoned violinist turned homeless.
"The very first information I found about him was a death notice dated 2013
," Dylan Fixmer told Colorado Public Radio.
Ex-first violin of the San Francisco Ballet, Terri Sternberg had the opportunity to play under the direction of conductor Leonard Bernstein.
And then, one day, his life took a turn for the worse.
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Mentally suffering, she finds herself on the street.
“It can happen to anyone
,” continues the composer, shocked by his discovery.
Even more striking, she had advocated for the homeless population of Boulder, where she lived, while she herself was homeless.
The various documents discovered hidden inside Terri Sternberg's old violin: an invitation, a receipt and two business cards.
Greenley Philharmonic Orchestra
Moved by this revelation, Dylan Fixmer composed a violin concerto, a posthumous tribute to Terri Sternberg.
“I wanted to make it a violin concerto because I wanted the soloist to express Terri's feelings.
I wanted his heroic journey and his suffering and triumph to be portrayed as well.
And since Terri herself was a violinist, I wanted that voice to be her voice
,” explained the composer.
The work premiered on October 24, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, performed by the UNC Symphony Orchestra, with the violinist's old instrument.
According to the White House, the United States had 552,830 people declared as homeless in 2021.
