When a violin was stolen from Cape Town musician Nadine Thompson, heartbreak followed, but so did hope. Now, South Africans are rallying to help find the beloved instrument and remind us what community really means.
Cape Town, South Africa (09 July 2025) – It was a quick stop, in the middle of a rainstorm in early June. Musician Nadine Thompson pulled into the Engen Oranje Service Station in Gardens, Cape Town, locked her car, and dashed inside. Ten minutes later, she returned to find her heart broken and her violin stolen.
The instrument wasn’t just a violin; it was her violin. A Karl Höfner Master Violin, Bubenreuth 1999 model, with a high-gloss varnish, black fittings, and housed in a worn black GEWA case lined with unique bottle-green velvet-corduroy. Alongside it were two bows: one carbon fibre and one wooden.
“The Violin was recently cleaned, with high gloss varnish, black tuning pegs, black fingerboard, black tailpiece (1 fine-tuner on the E string), and black chin rest.
It was inside an old (worn edges), black, canvas, rectangular violin case with a unique velvet-corduroy, bottle-green case interior.” – Nadine Thompson
Theft is an unfortunate reality many South Africans know too well, and while this may seem like one more crime in a country grappling with too many, this particular loss hit a note that’s echoed far and wide. Because the thing about music is that it’s not just heard, it’s felt. And Nadine’s violin was more than wood and strings. It was her voice. Her livelihood. Her story.
“I don’t care about the brown paper bag they also took,” she wrote in her plea for help on Facebook. “It’s the violin. Please, please help.”
That call hasn’t gone unanswered.
From musicians to strangers, the online community has begun sharing her post with urgency and compassion. People are offering help, asking questions, and offering solidarity in what feels like a growing chorus of support. A reward has been offered for any information leading to the return of the violin or its whereabouts. And while the CCTV footage was delayed and the crime was likely organised, the kind involving jamming devices and opportunistic timing, hope hasn’t been jammed. If anything, it’s amplifying.
Thompson’s story reminds us of the fragile beauty of creative tools, how they are both deeply personal and irreplaceably practical. But it also reminds us of something bigger: that despite everything, South Africans show up. This isn’t the first time a stolen violin has made headlines either, so we hope for the same happy ending we reported in 2024.
If you’ve seen or heard anything about Nadine’s violin, or if you come across a violin matching the description being sold or pawned, please call or message her directly using her contact information here.
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