The 52nd Convention & 26th International Competition in Cleveland
Convention Schedule
More than 50 Programs to Pack Your Week
Sponsors
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Vendors & Exhibitors
Reserve Space Now
Our Vendor Prospectus provides all the details you need about participating as a vendor, including pricing, booth options, a link to our decorator’s Vendor Kit, and the Vendor Room floor plan. Simply review the Prospectus, choose your top three booth locations, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your preferences and help make the most of your presence.
Already Registered as a Vendor? Please:
- Coordinate shipping and order vendor booth supplies using this form with Miller Party Rentals.
- Reach vendorinfo@vsaweb.org with further inquiries
Sponsors
Support Your Community
Sponsoring the 52nd annual Convention is a unique opportunity to align your brand with The VSA community. Join us in the celebration of tradition and help inspire future generations of makers with your financial contribution. All support goes to the cost of producing convention activities, and we look forward to supporting your company's visibility in Cleveland and beyond.
The prospectus outlines tiered packages with exclusive branding opportunities for convention activites, including the 26th International Competition, receptions, concerts, and attendee luncheons. Sponsors can access high visibility perks such as podium remarks, dedicated event signage, program book ads, and year-long website recognition.
Please reach partnerships@vsaweb.org to begin your sponsorship.
Special Events
Presentations are only part of what make a VSA convention special. Here are the the other ways to enjoy your fellow members and make the most of your week:
Chamber Music Session
Grab your violin, viola, cello and bow or one from the NIE to make music with your fellow VSA members. Amateur to professional skill levels are welcomed.
Pick an instrument from the NIE or bring your own, bring your sheet music or choose from a provided selection, and form a quartet to sight read. We're here to have fun, enjoy each other, and hear the instruments!
Demonstration Stations
All aboard! A unique opportunity for hands-on learning is leaving the station.
This event puts you right next to skilled experts showcasing specialized techniques. You'll rotate through several small, intimate stations to discuss and observe detailed processes up-close.
It's fast-paced, focused, and perfect for professional makers, restorers, and serious enthusiasts.
Jam Sessions
After the regular programming finishes for the day, head over to the hotel's atrium to join an impromptu jam session! Bluegrass, old-time, Irish, who knows? Bring your instrument and play along.
Women's Luncheon
Join us for a cherished VSA tradition since 2014.
Reserve your place at the table for a special opportunity to honor the vital, and expanding, role of women in our field. Connect with trailblazers who came before, meet your peers, and show a new generation of luthier ladies a path to follow.
All VSA members are welcome at this celebration.
Trivia Night
Gather your friends and get ready for the ultimate test of string instrument knowledge, hosted by quizmasters Brandon Godman & Jerry Lynn.
Form your team of 3 to 6 people and compete in multiple rounds of trivia centered on all things violin: history, making, restoration, playing, and even pop culture.
It's a high-energy, friendly competition with fantastic prizes on the line, but the real reward is earning year-long bragging rights as The VSA's smartest team!
Come mix, mingle, and show off your expertise.
Tin Can Fiddle Challenge
Put your scrap-heap lutherie skills to the test! Team up with fellow makers to transform a mystery box of random spare parts into a playable, tuned fiddle against the clock. Bring your ingenuity, roll up your sleeves, and join the challenge!
The Scholarship Auction
About
The Scholarship Auction brings the community together to secure the future of the trade through a live auction of violin shop supplies, tools, instruments, materials and accessories.
The event is open to all convention attendees, and every dollar raised during this auction goes directly to The VSA's Scholarship Fund. Whether you are a donor, a passionate bidder, or both, you are supporting the continued professional development of artisans who will define the future of our field.
Call for Donations: $25,000 Goal
Your generous contributions will make this year’s auction the most successful yet. Large or small, your donations make a tangible impact toward our goal of raising $25,000 for scholarships. We are especially grateful for the support of partners like Howard Core, who have kicked off our efforts with a $5,000 in-kind donation.
We are accepting contributions at the Main Hall balcony from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the convention week, including:
- Instrument Components & Parts
Old violins (any condition), partial instruments, scrolls, tops, backs, neck grafts, ribs, bridges, and fingerboards. - Tools & Workshop Supplies
Chisels, gouges, planes, calipers, clamps, toolboxes, molds, patterns, sharpening stones, varnish, finishing products, and shop safety gear. - Bow & String Accessories
New and modern/Baroque bows, bundles of bows, fine tuners, tailpieces, chin rests, pegs, end pins, and strings. - Professional & Reference Materials
Reference books, music-themed prints, posters, music stands, tuners, and gift certificates for professional courses. - Apparel & Miscellaneous
Branded merchandise or decorative music and violin-themed items.
Note: Please contact us prior to the event to coordinate or discuss larger items. Receipts for donated items over $250 are available upon request.
The New Instrument Exhibit
& Sound Expo with The Verona Quartet
Open all week long, The New Instrument Exhibit (NIE) is an open showcase for contemporary violin and bow makers to display their work. It's non-competitive and hands on - an invitation to play, discuss, and appreciate each other's work. All entry fees support the ongoing mission and operational programs of the Violin Society of America.
Join a special session where violins, violas, cellos, and their bows from the NIE will be played by Cleveland's internationally renowned ensemble, The Verona Quartet. Violinists Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky, and cellist Jonathan Dormand will select items from the exhibit for an open discussion about sound and the experience of performing with contemporary instruments.
This is a rare opportunity to evaluate and appreciate the acoustical qualities of the latest work from VSA members around the world.
Show Your Work
Join the event as an exhibitor and share your work with the convention. Participants may submit one item in up to two categories (e.g., one violin and one viola) or up to four bows. Table space is limited and expected to sell out prior to the event. Entry is $175 per item.
Alongside your instrument or bow, please be prepared to provide a short maker biography, a headshot, and representative photos of your work. Exhibitors are also asked to leave a case on-site if possible. Reserve your place in the exhibit upon registering for the convention.
Domestic entries may be shipped in advance to our host shop, Cleveland Violins, or hand-delivered during check-in on Sunday, Nov 15. International entries must be hand-delivered. Items are expected to remain in the exhibit through Friday, Nov 20 at 3pm.
View & Play
Attendees are encouraged to view and play the exhibit items. Bows will be available throughout the room, or attendees may bring their own instrument or bow. Other personal items must be left at the exhibit entrance.
Interested buyers are encouraged to connect directly with the maker regarding private purchases. The VSA does not handle sales or provide sales support for NIE items.
A one-day Musicians Pass is available for $50, granting entrance to the exhibit and accompanying Sound Expo to non-VSA member professional musicians.
Indianapolis Virtuosi Concert
Martin Beaver, Sirena Huang & Chih-Yi Chen
Presented in collaboration with the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) and co-sponsored by Kenneth Warren & Son, this year's featured concert brings two extraordinary IVCI Laureates to the stage.
Tuesday, November 17 at 7:30 PM
Hotel Cleveland Grand Ballroom
Program
Igor Stravinsky: Suite Italienne
Martin Beaver, Violin
Chih-Yi Chen, Piano
Edvard Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major, Op. 13
Sirena Huang, Violin
Chih-Yi Chen, Piano
Moritz Moszkowski: Suite for Two Violins and Piano in G minor, Op. 71
Sirena Huang, Violin
Martin Beaver, Violin
Chih-Yi Chen, Piano
Martin Beaver
Martin Beaver was First Violin of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet from June 2002 until its final concert in July 2013. As such, he appeared to critical and public acclaim on the major stages of the world, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Sydney Opera House.
As a member of the Tokyo String Quartet, Mr. Beaver was privileged to perform on the 1727 Stradivarius violin from the “Paganini Quartet” set of instruments on generous loan to the quartet from the Nippon Music Foundation. Recordings of the Tokyo String Quartet during his tenure notably include the complete Beethoven string quartets on the Harmonia Mundi label.
Mr. Beaver joined the faculty of the Colburn School in Los Angeles in August 2013 as Professor of Violin and served as Co-Director of String Chamber Music studies from 2013 to 2018. In Fall 2025, Beaver was bestowed with the distinction of Samuel Thomas Violin Chair for the Colburn School.
Sirena Huang
Praised by The Baltimore Sun for her “impeccable technique… deeply expressive phrasing… and poetic weight,” Sirena Huang is one of her generation’s most celebrated violinists. She brings not only technical brilliance and powerful artistry to the stage, but also a profound sense of connection to her audience. Sirena is the 2022 Gold Medalist of the 11th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and was also awarded eight of the eleven special prizes.
She graduated from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Stephen Clapp, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Itzhak Perlman, and holds an Artist Diploma from Yale University’s School of Music, where she studied with Hyo Kang.
Sirena performs on a Guarneri del Gesù violin, Cremona 1739 “Kortschak,” which is on loan from Dr. Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.
Chih-Yi Chen
Pianist Chih-Yi Chen’s versatile qualities as a collaborative partner, chamber musician, and teacher have contributed to a distinguished international career. Chen is a Teaching Professor of Music in Collaborative Piano and the Associate Chair of the Chamber and Collaborative Music Department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She has been on the faculty since 2003 and was a recipient of the 2023 Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award. She has also been on the faculty of the Indiana University Summer String Academy for more than two decades.
Chen has been performing with the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Laureates since 2003. She has served as an official pianist for the competition since the 9th Quadrennial in 2014 and was awarded special recognition at the 2018 Competition for “Best Performances” of the Beethoven and Mozart sonatas.
Presentations and Speaker Bios
Technical lectures, historical research, and insights from the bench
Volunteers Welcome
Get Involved Now
Support the VSA's mission while connecting with colleagues and exploring leadership opportunities. Giving your time at the convention is not just helpful to the organization and its mission, it's a great way to connect with old colleagues and new friends, and begin your journey towards further leadership opportunities at The VSA.
Available positions:
- Exhibition Monitors
- Auction Assistants
- Raffle Assistants
- Presentation Assistants