A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Date: March 2026
I can report that, in its twenty-eighth year of operations, the condition of The Virtu Foundation, Inc. is sound and its health robust.
The Foundation ended fiscal year 2025 with 65 instruments in its collection, the highest number ever. Virtu acquired five instruments through an unexpected and exceptionally generous donation from a Patron, which enabled the Foundation to add three new violins and two violas. We continued our goal of, where possible, supporting the work of living American instrument makers.
Contributions from scholars and other funds were enough to provide insurance coverage and cover the costs of maintaining our instrument collection in good condition, thus meeting scholars’ needs for playable instruments and safeguarding these assets for the patrons who donated them. The Foundation ended the year with sufficient liquid reserves to ensure that these sound practices will continue in 2026.
Virtu’s mission is to provide high-quality violins, violas, and cellos to talented aspiring pre-professional musicians in need of better instruments to enhance their skills. In 2026, we will receive several instruments back from Scholars who have entered the professional ranks. This is a bittersweet time, as many part with an instrument they have played for years, and move on without Virtu. We take great joy in their successes.
Scholarship applications continue to far exceed the number of available instruments. This is particularly true for cellos, the typically most expensive instrument. The Foundation has long possessed, but not actively placed, a full-sized bass that was left with us when the owner moved to Germany. It has now been repaired, and, modestly, the Foundation has added a fourth instrument—bass—to our collection.
Our Board of Directors continues to actively participate in The Foundation’s affairs. All officers are volunteers and serve without compensation. Virtu continues to operate as an IRS-categorized 501(c)(3) organization, a nonprofit entity. The 2025 tax report (Form 990) has been filed and accepted by the IRS.
Curtis Peterson
President