Why the viola deserves its own community
There's a joke violists tell each other. You've probably heard it — or told it yourself. Something about being invisible, about being the butt of the orchestra, about being the instrument everyone forgets.
We laugh. And then we go back to practicing.
But here's what I've noticed over twenty years of playing, teaching, and living as a violist: underneath the jokes is something real. A quiet longing for a space that's actually built for us.
Not merely adapted from violin pedagogy. Not a subforum in a general string players group where viola questions get two responses and a shrug.
A space that starts with the viola and works outward from there.
The problem with being the "middle child"
Violists occupy a unique position in the string world. We're not the main melody instrument — that's the violin. We're not the primary bass voice — that's the cello. We live in the middle, harmonically and sonically, and while that position comes with its own particular challenges, we also are called upon to fill all roles at different times. We are the musical ‘chameleons’ of the classical music world.
Our repertoire is smaller and harder to find. Our technique has quirks that violin methods don't address. Our instrument requires physical adaptations that are highly individual. And our identity as musicians has often been defined in relation to other instruments rather than on its own terms.
I've watched talented, dedicated violists struggle not because they lacked ability, but because they lacked resources built specifically for them. A system for creating the best fingerings. Ways to learn to feel an inner pulse and have a strong sense of rhythm. The right recommendations that hone in on exactly what an individual needs in order to progress. A teacher who understood the particular demands of a 16-inch instrument on a body that isn't built for it. Someone to provide direction and answers that work.
What I kept seeing
In my teaching studio, in masterclasses, in conversations after rehearsals — I kept meeting violists who were motivated and curious and committed, but who felt oddly isolated in their pursuit of the instrument.
They had teachers. They had practice routines. What they didn't have was community. A place to ask the specific question. To share the small victory. To find out that someone else had figured out that shift in the Bartók and was willing to talk about it and share with others.
That's what I wanted to build.
Why now
I've been playing viola my entire adult life. I've taught it, performed it, and spent more hours than I can count thinking about what it means to grow as a violist at every stage — student, emerging professional, seasoned performer, teacher.
I've also spent time in arts administration and coaching, watching what happens when musicians have genuine support structures around them versus when they're left to figure things out alone. The difference is significant.
The Viola Power Collective is my answer to what I kept wishing existed. A community built from the ground up for violists — with resources, conversation, live sessions, and a founding principle that the viola is not just a bigger violin. It's a voice worth cultivating, on its own terms.
You're invited
The VPC is launching soon, and I'd love to have you in it.
If you're a violist at any stage — student, teacher, performer, someone who picked up the instrument three years ago and fell in love with it — this community is being built with you in mind.
[Join the waitlist → artofkimfoster.com/vpc]
