Violin Viiv | Violinist and Street Performer

Violin Viiv (pronounced “Viv” - short for Vivian) and I met up at the Boston University Questrom School fo Business in the mid morning. Creative Re/Frame is working with Boston University’s BUild Lab to infuse arts and effective storytelling into the IDEA 2020 conference, and Vivian will be a featured performer.

Vivian showed up to our meeting wearing funky, colorful pajamas and a long black coat with a fur trim. She had come straight from performing at a Red Line T-stop during the morning commute. Originally from Sunnyvale, CA, Vivian moved to the east coast to attend college at Columbia University. Her mother was a piano teacher and she grew up playing music, but her first professional path was in investment banking. What did she learn from working in finance? “That I can work on little sleep!” she said with a laugh. She eventually moved to Boston, and started doing some performance gigs for fun. However, after getting her car towed and needing to get some wisdom teeth removed, she found the extra cash to be helpful, even with the high paying finance job. She eventually left finance all together to focus on being a full-time professional musician.

What has she learned as a street performer? “People are very stressed out!” It’s hard at times for people to slow down and take note. “Music can awaken you or you can tune it out.” Vivian takes it all in stride and says that most people respond favorably to her music.

Kids tend to notice her playing before their parents. When the parents see how much their kids are enjoying it, they start to pay attention and enjoy it too. Some of her biggest fans? Boston’s homeless people, many of whom she has become friends with over the years.