Real Viola for Young Players

Made in Vermont, USA

At 13", most violists are past their first instrument and starting to develop real technique — which is exactly when the gap between a converted violin and a true viola becomes obvious. Ours is scaled from our full 16" model, not from a violin body, so the proportions a developing player is training their hands and ears around are the real thing from the start.

Conservatories and youth orchestra programs around the country place students in our smaller sizes for this reason — the tone and playability hold up under real scrutiny, not just at a beginner level. Each 13" viola is hand-graduated by our master luthiers, built with viola-specific fingerboard and bridge geometry, and finished with the same hand-painted oil varnish as our full-size instruments.

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High-Quality Materials

Every V. Richelieu™ is made entirely in our Vermont workshop, hand-graduated by senior luthiers who thin each top and back to precise, individually judged measurements — not a factory template. Our spruce is hand-split and sourced from Italy and Switzerland; our maple comes from Bosnia. Where we can, we build with FSC®-certified tonewoods and offer GaiaTone and Sonowood as ebony-alternative fittings, so exceptional sound doesn't come at the expense of the forests it depends on. The oil-based varnish on every instrument is hand-painted by an accomplished oil portrait artist — a detail most makers at this price point skip entirely.