Boston Police Seek Suspect in Viola Theft

Photo courtesy of the Boston Police Department

A $70K viola was stolen in Boston, and police are seeking a suspect.

What’s Up: The Boston police have released photos of a suspect they believe to have stolen a $70,000 viola and iPad Pro at the end of August in Allsten, MA. The police are seeking information about the viola and the suspect, who is reportedly between 30-40 years of age and between 5’9” and 6’ with blond curly hair, blue arm tattoos and a stocky build.

Going Deeper: Violas can range in price from around $20K up to millions of dollars. The silver lining of instrument thefts is they’re often not of much use to their thieves. Berklee College of Music viola professor Rictor Noren noted the lack of a black market for musical instruments such as this one. “There’s not much a thief can do with it,” he told NBC Boston.

Let’s hope the viola is restored to its rightful owner soon.

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.