Small and Mighty Viola - Opus 38 - David Finck ~ Luthier

Small and Mighty Viola ~ Opus 38

"My 2023 Finck Viola is a warm, responsive instrument that has exceptional power with a wide range of tonal colors. It is a joy to play."

Melody Rike commissioned this 15.5” viola. An original model, it’s the second I have made — an upscaling and re-imagining of Giuseppe “del Gesu” Guarneri’s “Il Cannone”, Paganini’s famed violin. The design has proved successful at providing a very playable small viola with outsized projection and richness.

The top is Engelmann spruce from Colorado. The back, neck, and sides are European maple. It is outfitted with rosewood pegs, chinrest, and tailpiece tied with a Kevlar tailgut. The neck is reinforced with twin carbon-fiber rods. The bridge is my own, designed to maximize power and response. The varnish is my own spirit-varnish blend comprised of three resins, then lightly French polished with a Kusmi buttonlac. The string length is 366 mm (14.4”).

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Melody Rike has worked as a professional musician and music educator for over 40 years. Her original instrument, a Carl Becker Sr. 1952 viola, carried her through the majority of her career, including more than a decade as Assistant Principal Viola of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a stint as principal violist for the Long Bay Symphony, and multiple seasons in Charleston Symphony in SC. She reluctantly sold her beloved viola upon retirement.

Finding herself still passionate about music education and performance, Melody came out of retirement and began her quest for a new viola. Melody searched for several years before discovering luthier David Finck though a YouTube performance. Excited by the Finck viola’s sound, she commissioned one in 2023.

Today, you can find Melody playing her new viola while coaching the violists in the ASTA award winning East Chapel Hill High School Orchestras. She also freelances and teaches chamber music at the Chapel Hill School of Musical Arts, in North Carolina, where she works as the Senior Violin and Viola Instructor.