B.C. musician recovers stolen 1840s

Sep 04, 2023

The violinist from a well-known music band in Kelowna, B.C., managed to recover his 1840s-era violin on Thursday evening, about 24 hours after reporting it stolen.

Mitchell Howanyk, a member of the Kentucky Eileen band for over a decade, says he discovered the vintage stringed instrument had gone missing after a performance on the evening of Aug. 3.

He says the theft likely occurred while he was unloading equipment from his trailer in downtown Kelowna or while loading equipment after the performance at the Cambium Cider Co. in Vernon.

Howanyk says he noticed it was missing the following day while preparing for a gig at the Kelowna brewery.

He says the instrument is an Italian-made violin from the 1840s, featuring a unique one-piece back with two black bows and one red bow. It's housed in a silver carbon-fibre case with backpack straps and stickers from various countries.

After losing it, he says he went on a search in various parts of Kelowna and Vernon.

While biking and walking through encampment areas in downtown Kelowna and the Okanagan Rail Trail on Thursday, Howanyk says a homeless man advised him and the friend he was with to go to the Queensway bus loop in the downtown core.

Once there, Howanyk says he spotted a man with the silver violin case, who then placed it on the ground. He says he was "full of adrenaline."

"My buddy just spoke to him, and I grabbed it immediately and then proceeded to say, 'Nice violin.'

"I don't want to be any kind of vigilante, but what's mine is mine," he told host Sarah Penton on CBC's Radio West. "I had a true passion for this instrument, so I grabbed it and then, luckily, my friend reminded me that we should probably just head out."

The musician remembers the man was "shaken up" when he saw the violin case being taken away and told him he had purchased it for $20 from someone else.

Kelowna had one of the highest crime severity indices in Canada last year, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. The municipality recorded a non-violent crime severity index — which includes theft — of 162.98 in 2022, an increase of over seven per cent from the previous year.

While grateful for the local community's support in trying to recover his violin, Howanyk feels saddened by the frequent thefts in Kelowna in recent years.

"It's super sad what's going on, but it's hard to not have a lot of anger and rage," he said.

Howanyk says he purchased the violin about a decade ago from a musician friend who has since passed away, making it a highly sentimental item for him.

After some repairs, he used it while performing with his band across Canada and internationally, as well as for teaching music at a K-12 school in Kelowna.

WATCH | Howaynk plays violin in performance with Kentucky Eileen band

Howanyk says the violin's neck and strings suffered damage, but he's confident that a local luthier he knows can repair it.

"I can hopefully bring it back to life even better than it was before. Its voice will live on."

With files from Radio West