For years, Colin Maki and his associates — purveyors of some of the finest and rarest violins ever made — had been circling the Playfair, an ultra-rare model crafted by the famed luthier Guarneri “del Gesù” in 1741. Little is known about the Playfair’s passage through the centuries, but its profile suggests a life spent moving between gifted hands. It was last sold by W.E. Hill & Sons, a storied London shop. From there, Maki says, it passed to “a noteworthy collector, then another one, and then a very prominent musician,” who eventually chose to part with it, relinquishing the instrument to Maki and entrusting him to find a player worthy of continuing its legacy.

“An opportunity arose,” Maki says, “to play matchmaker.” The artist they landed on was a 24-year-old from San Gabriel, who plays both violin and piano: Ray Ushikubo.

Ushikubo has performed at Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, appeared on NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” and won numerous awards including the Davidson Fellow Laureate Award and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. Now comes one of his greatest feats: his debut on the Playfair, one of the most exceptional instruments in violin history.

Asked what the Playfair is worth, Maki shakes his head. “I’d rather not go into that, for reasons of discretion.” After a nudge, he allows only: “It’s well into the eight figures.”

That such a violin should surface for loan is astonishing enough; that it should be placed with such a young artist, who has spent most of his life studying at the Colburn School across the street from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, feels momentous.

“The opportunity to have access to a violin of this vintage is really quite rare,” Maki says. Together with his colleague Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, Maki began the search. It was Pederzoli who thought of Robert Lipsett — a Colburn instructor who has taught Ushikubo for the last 16 years — and called to inquire whom he would deem worthy of such an instrument. Within days, they flew Ushikubo out to play for them.

In Ushikubo they found, as Pederzoli puts it, “not only an extraordinary musician, but someone with extraordinary character. He has the composure of a musician well beyond his years.” Ushikubo is charming and affable, with a poise that radiates outward. He sits straight, eyes bright, maintaining contact with subtle showmanship.

For the last few months, he has been learning the violin’s temperament. “We communicate with each other,” he says. “I say: I want this, what can you offer me?” At first they misunderstood each other, as many new companions do. But soon the violin seemed to mold itself to him. “When I put my chin down, it feels like I’ve been playing it for years.”

It took some time for Ray Ushikubo to wrap his head around playing an instrument that’s been around longer than the United States.

He carries it everywhere. He enters Colburn’s 400-capacity Zipper Hall, where he will debut it on Dec. 3, with the case slung lightly on his back. When he opens it, the violin gleams with the sheen of a freshly split chestnut. It is scarcely believable that this instrument is 284 years old. Fewer than 200 of these violins were ever made.

“I’m only 24,” Ushikubo says. “This instrument is from 1741. It’s older than the United States. I can barely comprehend that amount of history.” Then he smiles. “But mostly I feel happiness. And honor. It sounds better than any violin that’s ever been made.”

Demonstrating the instrument, he removes his bracelets and jacket, steadies his breath, rests his chin on the violin as if preparing for impact. Slowly brushing his bow against the instrument, he closes his eyes, and looks almost on the verge of tears. His vibrato is disciplined and finely grained; when he moves up and down the neck, the motion is smooth as a jet plane lifting into altitude.

Del Gesù instruments tend to be dark, rich in color, with a tremendous power that fills a hall with little effort on the player’s part. Ushikubo remembers tuning the Playfair for the first time a couple of months ago. “There was a shine to it that I hardly recognized,” he says. To test it, he played a Tchaikovsky concerto, spanning its high and middle registers, finding sounds he “didn’t even know violins were capable of.” He describes its palette as chocolate: white to dark, streaked with caramel.

For his debut, Ushikubo will perform four maximalist Romantic pieces: Tomaso Antonio Vitali’s “Chaconne in G minor,” Nathan Milstein’s “Paganiniana,” Ernest Chausson’s “Poème” and Maurice Ravel’s “Tzigane.” They trace his own coming of age. “Every one of these pieces has made me grow,” he says. He admits he hates practicing. “But these pieces remind me why I do this.”

If Ray Ushikubo has to return the violin on indefinite loan, he said he’d grieve the loss.

His path to this moment began with a Japanese TV show he watched as a child, featuring a charismatic violinist-pianist he quickly came to idolize. He begged his parents for a violin. For his sixth birthday, they bought him a $20 instrument from a local shop. Soon they discovered Colburn and spent years driving him 90 minutes each way between Riverside and downtown L.A. for lessons, before moving to San Gabriel. He studied there until 17, then went to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and returned to Colburn to pursue his master’s; he’s now completing his artist diploma, a highly selective postgraduate program at Colburn. A typical day of practice lasts around 10 hours, divided between piano and violin, an arrangement that Sel Kardan, president and chief executive of Colburn, calls “unprecedented.”

Ushikubo is one of a handful of Colburn students poised for lifelong solo or chamber careers. The school’s in-house management program, Colburn Artists, aims to shepherd musicians like him toward professional life, helping them build repertoire and shape their image. Kardan describes Ushikubo as “very compelling onstage, with great virtuosity. He absorbs music.” But even with the school’s infrastructure behind him, the experience of playing the Playfair exists outside any practical career calculus; it marks an inflection point, a rare chance to inhabit history while shaping it.

Asked how he’ll feel if the indefinite loan of the Playfair ever ends, Ushikubo pauses. “I’ll grieve it,” he says, setting the instrument down and zipping it back up into its case. Although this could be the rarest instrument he’ll ever play, he remains resolute: “For the rest of my life, I hope to discover new sounds every day.”

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Lululemon is one of the most popular activewear and athleisure brands among celebrities these days, with musicians like Olivia Rodrigo, Addison Rae and BLACKPINK’s Jennie having been spotted wearing lululemon in recent months, and country star Kelsea Ballerini starring in the brand’s spring campaign.

F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, meantime, is a lululemon ambassador and recently went viral for “impersonating” a store employee and surprising fans. If all the celeb publicity wasn’t enough, Lululemon’s belt bags and shoulder bags have been a staple at music festivals and sporting events alike.

Lululemon rarely goes on sale, and when their pieces do get discounted, they’re often hidden on the site’s “We Made Too Much” section. Fortunately, the brand is opening up its Black Friday sale to everyone with up to 50% off sweatshirts, hoodies, leggings, yoga pants, bags and more through the weekend. You can shop our picks from the lululemon Black Friday weekend sale below.

There’s nothing like cozying up in plush outerwear, especially as the temperature begins to drop. If you’ve been searching for an ultra-warm jacket you can rely on, look no further than Lululemon’s StretchSeal Sleet Street 600-Down-Fill Long Jacket, now 50% off on the brand’s website. This jacket is lengthy, cocooning the body in heat-insulating fabric that’ll keep you toasty no matter the weather. To make this jacket even better, it’s waterproof and resistant to wind. The jacket comes in a neutral black, making it super versatile to style.

Yoga pants are so back. If you’ve been paying attention, we’ve been seeing the 2000s style on the likes of Addison Rae and Jennie Kim, with the two of them often sporting similar pieces hailing from lululemon. In the spirit of bringing back the 2000s, we’ve picked out these Groove Nulu Super-High-Rise Flared Pants, a style that’s currently 50% off. The high-waisted style features a flattering flared hem, which accommodates boots and sneakers alike, and it’s made of a sleek and buttery material with a four-way stretch, moving with you rather than against you during pilates or your daily yoga sesh.

The perfect sports bra doesn’t exist; however, the Bend This Scoop and Cross Bra sure comes close. The style is currently 40% off — that’s just $29 — right now at Lululemon. This bra features a scoop neckline and an extra-supportive crisscross back. Like the brand’s leggings, this bra is made of a super soft and stretchy seamless fabric. This special fabric is also sweat-wicking, meaning you can work out to your heart’s content without getting any embarrassing sweat stains.

Lululemon’s crossbody bags are extremely popular but hard to come by. They’re always sold out, which is rough because they make an excellent bag for festival season and as holiday gifts alike. Right now, however, the brand’s Curved Crossbody Bag 3L is in stock and available for only $49, 37% off the OG price. This crossbody is shaped like a half moon, curved to fit the body.

This bag is made of a futuristic water-repellent material that can be worn crossbody or around the waist if you’d like to mix it up. The bag is big enough to hold the essentials like your phone or wallet, but not so big that you’ll be stopped at a concert venue.

Workout in style with these Women’s Chargefeel 3 Workout Shoes, retailing for only $99 during Black Friday. These sneakers are chock-full of athletic design details that aim to elevate your workout experience. You’ve got layered uppers engineered for breathability, flexibility and support along with ShiftFoam midsoles which give the wearer explosive takeoffs, with lightweight energy return and springy cushioning — imperative for runners and gymnasts alike. The colorway is also super fashion-forward, great for those who love a colorblocked option.

There’s nothing like getting a cozy hoodie and we like men’s Textured Double-Knit Cotton Hoodie, currently 33% off. This hoodie is a unique one in that it’s made of a special double-knit cotton that promotes breathability and stretch. Other thoughtful details include the hood shaped just right so it won’t block your vision, and a few secure zippered pockets to store your phone and cards so they won’t go falling out. This is a casual piece made for lounging, but it’s also breathable enough that you’d be fine wearing it on a run.

Speaking of comfort, these jersey pants are the epitome of it, and they’re just $69 during lululemon’s Black Friday sale. The baggy style comes in a multitude of colorways, although our favorite is the Rainforest Green color above. The pants are made of a stretchy, ultra-soft jersey fabric that’s fantastic for keeping the cold at bay. The fabric is also sweat-wicking and quick-drying if they do get wet.

If you’re looking into getting into running in 2026, or the hobby is already your thing, then you need this men’s Pace Breaker Jacket for $119. The jacket is water-repelling and features a wrap-around panel of ventilation for maximum comfort as you run and train.

If you’re looking to upgrade your water bottle, lululemon has some pretty decent styles on sale right now. Take the Back to Life Clear Bottle, currently on sale for $24. The bottle holds up to 32 oz. of liquid and comes in this stylish pink hue, although there are plenty of other colorways to choose from. The bottle is made of lightweight, easy-to-clean materials, and the lid is both easy to open and leakproof.

Addison Rae has worn similar Lululemon styles to this Define Jacket for $99, mainly because it calls back to styles we’ve seen from athleisure brands that were popular in the 2000s. We’re talking form-fitted sleek silhouettes with zip-up closures. This jacket is insanely flattering, and it comes in about seven total colorways if the pink isn’t your thing. The fabric is buttery soft and super breathable, meaning you won’t sweat up a storm if you’re wearing this during a workout. You’ve also got zip-up pockets that keep your belongings secure on a run or walk.

You can see more from lululemon’s Black Friday weekend sale here.

Want to shop even more Black Friday deals? You can browse beauty deals, streaming deals, gaming deals, electronic deals and so much more on Billboard’s website.