S.F. auto burglary nets violin that backed up Sinatra

A photo of the Mazmanian Family Musical Ensemble. Greg Mazmanian’s (far left) $35,000 violin was stolen on Dec. 28 in san Francisco after someone broke into his car. A photo of the Mazmanian Family Musical Ensemble. Greg Mazmanian’s (far left) $35,000 violin was stolen on Dec. 28 in san Francisco after someone broke into his car. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.F. auto burglary nets violin that backed up Sinatra 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A member of a noted Bay Area family quartet’s car was broken into in San Francisco and a violin worth about $35,000 was stolen — all while he attended a memorial service.

Orinda resident Greg Mazmanian said someone broke the windows of his Acura sport utility vehicle and swiped his 150-year-old Carlo Bergonzi replica on Dec. 28 while he was at a lunch reception after his aunt’s funeral.

Mazmanian, 60, said he’s not sure anything can replace the instrument, which he played for about 40 years with the San Francisco Symphony, an assortment of celebrities and his own family group.

“It’s the first sound my kids heard when they were brought home from the hospital,” the father of three said Thursday. “Every instrument has it’s own sound, you know, it’s just not the same.”

On Dec. 28, he said, he played the violin at the funeral, then placed the instrument in his SUV and went to a lunch reception at the Harding Park golf course. He returned to his car around 2 p.m. and found the windows smashed and his prized possession gone.

“We called the police,” Mazmanian said. “At that point, they said, oh yeah, that place gets hit a lot.”

San Francisco police Officer Carlos Manfredi, a department spokesman, said it’s unlikely the thief targeted the violin, because it was hidden from view.

Manfredi noted that vehicle burglaries have been on the rise all over San Francisco, a phenomenon that has provoked outrage and finger-pointing. In the first half of 2015, car break-ins jumped 47 percent compared to 2014.

Mazmanian joked that his violin would have an interesting diary — it helped him back up the likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. He said he also performed with it while recording the first CD with the soundtracks from all three original “Star Wars” films.

And, when Mazmanian was a student at Juilliard in New York, it was in his hand as he played at Carnegie Hall.

Mazmanian, born and raised in Oakland, recently used the instrument as an orchestra and band teacher at Orinda Intermediate School and as a member of the Mazmanian Family Musical Ensemble.

“I play with my own kids,” he said. “we perform together as an ensemble.”

His son Edward and daughter Rose followed in their father’s footsteps as skillful violinists, while his daughter Ida is an award-winning pianist, he said.

The family has released CDs and performed at events throughout the Bay Area, including a November benefit at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley.

Mazmanian said he does not know what he’ll do without the violin. His son has offered to let him use his, but that would leave the ensemble short an instrument.

Manfredi said it’s possible the thief might simply discard the violin somewhere in the city. He or she faces a felony if caught, and now that the instrument has garnered so much attention it will be harder to sell, he said.

“At the end of the day, the victim only wants his violin back,” Manfredi said. “To a musician, it’s the world to them. Even getting another violin won’t replace the original.”

To Mazmanian, his missing piece could only be likened to a priceless work of art.

“It’s not the real Mona Lisa,” he said, “but a good replica.”

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno