Pioneer Fiddles
Does your family have a instrument with a story to tell?
Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, in partnership with the Church History Museum of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is gathering information about pioneer-era instruments and the family stories they carry — ahead of a 2027 exhibition at Abravanel Hall and around downtown Salt Lake City, timed with the reopening of Temple Square.
If a fiddle, violin, or other family instrument has lived with your family since the early days of Utah Territory, we want to hear about it. The instrument doesn’t have to be in playing condition, and the story doesn’t have to be complete.
How It Works
- Share your instrument and your family’s story using the form below.
- Our team will review submissions and follow up with next steps.
- Selected instruments will be evaluated and, if possible, restored to playing condition by Peter Prier & Sons Violins.
- Selected stories will be preserved through a recording session with StoryCorps.
Instruments selected for the exhibition will be displayed at Abravanel Hall and around downtown Salt Lake City — bringing your family’s history into a public conversation with Utah’s.
Questions? Please contact us at [email protected] (we can create a specific fiddle project email if we want and have it connect to the education inbox which is very consistently monitored).