A violin for social change

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Michel Bellemare

Sunday, 18 February 2018 18:16

UPDATE
Sunday, 18 February 2018 18:22

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The violin of great value to an engineer of Facebook death last November of a devastating cancer of the brain will be loaned for the first time this year, or a young violinist whose project outreach will be shortlisted by a jury.

Eric Sun, who led a brilliant career at Facebook since 2008, played the violin in his spare time. It was purchased in 2016, for a little over US $ 200,000, an instrument manufactured to the middle of the 19th century by the respected luthier French Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, at an auction held by the auction house Tarisio.

A few months after having acquired his violin, Eric Sun learned that he had a cancerous tumour in the brain, glioblastoma, and that his life expectancy was so much shorter. He has made the soul November 23, 2017, at the age of 33 years, 14 months after having learned that he was sick.

Her story, very touching, had been reported, notably by the magazine “the New Yorker”.

Before dying, Eric Sun, and his wife, Karen Law, had decided that after his death, his violin would be loaned to young musicians who would use it to bring communities together. Thus was born the “Sun-Law Vuillaume Fellowship of the foundation Tarisio with the mandate to make the violin of Eric Sun “an instrument for social change”.

The contest, which is open at the end of December, is taking nominations until 28 February. It is open to young violinists of 18 to 35 years of age with a social project for this violin. Candidates can be from any country, including Canada. The Vuillaume will be loaned to the candidate (or the candidate) to be used for a period of two years.