Premiered at Nuit Blanche Toronto on October 4th, 2025

~ Read my reflection ~

Pick up a violin and tell it all your problems…

Both deeply private and very public - like a violinist preparing for an audience - you are invited into a unique relationship with the violin.

30 violins sit across from empty chairs, waiting for you.

In this participatory installation, you’re invited to pick up a violin and speak your ‘self’ into it. What is the most yourself you can be with another? What is the most yourself you can be with 29 others? Over the course of the night, a generative soundscape changes as people participate, evoking a conversation between you, the violin, and the people around you.

The violin - likened to the human voice - transmits vibration, carrying the player’s emotions. A mythologized instrument, intimately known by its player, The Violins reimagines this relationship, offering the city a shared moment of connection.

Creative and Production Team:

Sound Design by Leslie Ting and Matt Smith

Hardware and Software Design by EMMA Technology Cooperative

Electronic Assembly by Site 3 coLaboratory Centre for Art and Technology

Produced by Leslie Ting and Laura Philipps for Leslie Ting Productions

Our Funders:

Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Government of Ontario, National Arts Centre National Creation Fund

Thank you to:

Theatre Passe Muraille, Theater Mitu, and the Durham Art Gallery

Thank you to our community translators:

Sally Recollet - Anishnaabemowin

Yazan Maarouf - Arabic

Riaz Mahmood - Bengali

Bryan Ma - Chinese (Simplified Written)

Sama Musavi - Farsi

Christine Balmes - Filipino

Merlin Simard - French

Parul Patel - Gujarati

Tushar Tukaram Dalvi - Hindi

Giulia Langella - Italian

Emily Jung - Korean

Matheus do Prado - Portuguese

Masha Granich - Russian

Camilo Diaz-Varela - Spanish

Dushy Gnanapragasam - Tamil

Taras Rudyi - Ukranian

Ly Nguyen - Vietnamese