{"id":420151,"date":"2026-04-27T15:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/420151\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T15:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:26:13","slug":"i-bought-my-first-violin-for-e10000-at-age-12-it-took-months-of-busking-to-pay-for-it-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/420151\/","title":{"rendered":"I bought my first violin for \u20ac10,000 at age 12. It took months of busking to pay for it \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Violinist and conductor Patrick Rafter is artistic director of Marble City Music Festival, which takes place in Kilkenny from May 8th to 15th. <\/p>\n

Are you a saver or a spender? <\/p>\n

I\u2019m a bit of both. You have to spend money to make money, don\u2019t you? I have always been quite practical in lifestyle choices, but sometimes I\u2019m a big child who likes gadgets.<\/p>\n

What was the first job you received money for, and how much were you paid? <\/p>\n

It was from busking at the age of 10, so the amount of money varied. I wanted to have money to buy as many hurls and sliotars as possible, so busking gave me that revenue stream. Then I became a little bit more responsible and started thinking of buying a fancy violin.<\/p>\n

Do you shop around for better value? <\/p>\n

Absolutely. I will take the time to research before making purchases. That said, sometimes research is a rabbit hole, and can become overly complicated. I remember I spent eight weeks thinking about running footwear. I listened to every podcast on the topic and read every article. It can be never-ending. Ultimately, simplicity is key.<\/p>\n

What has been your most extravagant purchase and how much did it cost? <\/p>\n

I would say a few items here. I am a violinist who is very privileged to play on really exceptional instruments. My violin bow cost around \u20ac25,000, and unfortunately, the violin cost a lot more. They are, however, necessary to my craft and my growth as a musician, and they are superb items to invest in.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you regret spending money on? <\/p>\n

Lots of smaller items, which I now ask myself if I actually needed.<\/p>\n

Do you haggle over prices? <\/p>\n

I have a great time in flea markets, making my poor wife or friends cringe with embarrassment. I do love a good old haggle. However, where there are artisanal Christmas markets and such, selling handmade products, I would never haggle. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I was 5 when I studied the violin. At 19, I rebelled and moved to Ireland thinking music was not my future\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Do you invest in shares and\/or cryptocurrency? <\/p>\n

I am very ignorant of cryptocurrency and I am also quite wary, but whether that is the lack of understanding or instinct, I\u2019m not sure. Also, with various suggestive investing apps now, it is too easy to lose money. I think there should be a lot more education on this from the ground up.<\/p>\n

Do you have a retirement or pension plan? <\/p>\n

My life is music, I could not live without it. This is not a job, but a vocation, and I don\u2019t intend to retire. As someone relatively new to conducting, I think I will only start to know what I am doing by the time I am in my 60s or 70s. I have been paying into a pension but, more importantly, I\u2019m building a collection of instruments for use if I need them later in life. <\/p>\n

What was the last thing you bought and was it good value for money? <\/p>\n

The last thing I bought was a beautiful dress for our daughter\u2019s first birthday. Given the amount of joy it will bring to my family and me, it is beyond good value.<\/p>\n

Have you ever successfully saved for a big purchase? <\/p>\n

Yes. My first violin, bought at the age of 12, was \u20ac10,000. It took me months of busking around the ages of 12\/13 to pay for it. The busking taught me two things. Firstly, discipline, and secondly, that if you play loud enough, Irish people are very generous.<\/p>\n

Are you a gambler and, if so, have you ever had a big win? <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a loaded question, but I think in life we have to take risks. Being a control freak, I have learned to let go and enjoy this incredible journey. In terms of putting money in horses and the like, absolutely not. That is a very slippery slope, and I have yet to see the statistics backing up a reason to partake.<\/p>\n

What is your best habit when it comes to money? And your worst? <\/p>\n

My worst habit, I would say, is that sometimes I am penny-wise, pound-foolish. It took me a while to learn that time is money. My best habit is that I cut my cloth to measure. Ultimately, money doesn\u2019t change how I feel about myself.<\/p>\n

How much money do you have on you now? <\/p>\n

Not enough to fix a broken string mid-concert, which is one of the few financial metrics that I consistently know only too well. There might be enough for some baby food! We had a beautiful little daughter last year, so I know those prices fairly well. <\/p>\n

In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Violinist and conductor Patrick Rafter is artistic director of Marble City Music Festival, which takes place in Kilkenny…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60,12969,27998],"class_list":["post-420151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kilkenny","tag-me-my-money"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}