By Michael S. WilliamsonAssociated PressThe Washington PostArturo Carmena, left, and his wife, Elena, are in the studio for violin.
Carmena’s new work includes a new open string instrument, “Carnaval.”
(Susan Walsh/For The Washington Times)By Michael S.-Walsh, The Associated PressArturo C. Carmeny, center, plays an open string violin at his studio in Virginia.
Carmenay has been playing open strings for almost 30 years.
(Susan Walsh/For the Washington Times; File photo)By Mike Schoeninger, The Washington PresswireFrom the moment he was 10 years old, Ray Chen had dreamed of playing the violin.
Chen played open strings with his family and friends, then in high school at Virginia Commonwealth University.
He played at the University of Virginia in the fall and summer.
He became a major figure in the arts, performing on national TV and touring the country.
“When I was 12 years old I realized that my parents and I could have more than one child,” Chen told The Washington Daily News last week.
He began a journey to become an open-string player.
The boy, who grew up in a small town near Philadelphia, began to practice in his parents’ basement.
Then, in the early 2000s, he opened a shop in Alexandria, Va., where he now lives.
He also opened a practice in Virginia, and opened the “Chen Center,” a nonprofit arts center in the statehouse.
The Chen Center opened last summer and has since hosted more than 300 performances and workshops, including an open strings violin competition in February.
The goal is to bring together musicians and open-strings experts in Virginia and elsewhere in the country to learn about the art.
The competition is the latest in a series of educational outreach efforts by the Chen Center, which offers free tuition and other support to students who pursue music careers.
Carmena and Elena Chen opened the center in late 2016 to promote open strings.
They have taught violin for years and have had open strings taught to them at their studio.
(Photo: Susan Walsh/ For The Washington Star)”They have been doing open strings at the center for years, and now we’re expanding,” Carmena said.
“They’re really interested in learning.”
Carmeny’s new open strings instrument, a violin with open strings that he uses as a soloist, is a reflection of his love of the instrument.
He said he wanted something that could be used for a solo or for family entertainment.
“I wanted to open it up so we could see the difference in the strings,” he said.
Carnava is a two-piece violin with a bow and a handle that opens to reveal the strings inside.
It costs about $8,000.
It has a single string that opens at the back.
A piece of paper hangs on a peg on the neck, and the string is held in place by two pieces of wire, the top of which is raised.
The string is wrapped around the top piece, which is held to the peg.
Chern plays a solo open string with his violin in Alexandria.
(Michael S.-Wialsh/ For the Washington Daily Mail; File: Susan Walsh; Susan Walsh)Carmenay said he hoped to teach his students about the violin’s history and current use.
The violin is being played at events, including a concert at the Virginia Commonwealth Music Festival.
Cavallo is the son of a retired city firefighter who had to give up his job because of a health condition.
He has been practicing for the past four years at the Chen Studio.
“It’s really important to me that I teach students about open strings and the history of the violin, so they understand how this instrument came to be,” he told The Daily News.
Corda has also been teaching violin at the Cheng Chinese Restaurant in Washington.
It is an outdoor venue, so Carnello and his colleagues are often outdoors.
Cantrell said open strings are becoming more popular, and he wants to use the instrument to bring the arts back into the home.
“Open strings are so powerful, so I want to use them to teach people how to use these instruments,” he added.
“This instrument has so many potential applications for the home, especially for people with disabilities,” he explained.
“It’s a perfect example of how the arts can help us all live more fully.”
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2w5VnPZ