Sara London-Hinman Scholarship Fund

A letter from Vivian London – Sara’s Grandmother

Dear Friends,

For 19 wonderful years Sara brought beauty, light and music into my life. Then, for 19 terrible years so far, her absence has left a searing, painful void in my heart and in our family.

I am Sara’s grandmother. At 89 years of age, in reasonable health and mental fitness, I live with that void, helpless also to ease the pain of her bereaved mother, my daughter Miv.

Into this sad picture comes the ray of light provided by the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association.

In her lifetime Sara was a creature of music. She learned to play the viola, and to my great pride and joy joined the Vermont Youth Orchestra. I traveled over 5,500 miles from my home to see and hear her perform with them on the stage of Carnegie Hall – one of the crowning moments of my life, I a New Yorker.

And pride was what I felt when Miv decided to honor and preserve Sara’s memory through music – by supporting and encouraging young musicians via the VYO.  The Sara London-Hinman Fund supports the cost of international travel for VYO students.

Since 2010, Sara’s fund has made participation in VYO international tours possible for young people who could not afford it otherwise. Musicians who would not have otherwise had the opportunity to travel to China, France, Germany, Czech-Republic, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, and Greece, not only experienced these beautiful countries but shared their artistry through captivating performances.

The next VYOA tour takes place Summer 2026 and heads to Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. The price of travel is rising and this 10-day tour is expected to cost $5,000 per person. Musicians will perform three concerts during the tour and prospective venues include Festsaal Wiener Neudorf in Vienna, Slovak Radio Hall in Bratislava, and the Great Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Support from Sara’s fund makes this once-in-a-lifetime trip a reality for one to two musicians.

How fitting, how smart, how effective is Miv’s initiative – to keep Sara’s spirit alive in this way. A gift to from you to support this fund can provide this life-changing experience for another young musician in need. The way the rings enlarge and multiply when you drop an object in water – the Sara London-Hinman Scholarship Fund radiates love and comfort and resilience and wonder in all directions: to the recipients and their families, to our family, to the audiences who hear them and to the public who hear about them. All this through the magic of music.

With gratitude to those who have contributed in the past and in the hope for repeated and new partners in giving, I reach out to you today.