From her start in Northborough, Massachusetts, to artistic director for the Portland Chamber Music Festival, Grammy-nominated violist Melissa Reardon takes us on a tour of her rise through the classical music world.

Story by Laurel Faye

My first instrument was a wooden spoon, painted red by my childhood music teacher, with two strings attached. She called them ‘pre-violins.’

“I was a little Suzuki kid. I played that until they gave me a child’s violin. My mother returned it and gave me a viola. But viola strings aren’t made for children’s fingers. It’s an adult instrument, typically picked up in high school. You don’t come to viola until later in life, but my mother decided it was to be the instrument I played.

Read the full story in the digital magazine above.