Eugene Benjamin Bondi (1953–1992) studied cello with Janos Starker at Indiana University and Gregor Piatigorsky at the University of Southern California. He was the associate principal cellist in the Honolulu Symphony for six years, and taught for four years at the University of Hawaii. He composed this concerto for his student, Michael Lim, who performed it with the Honolulu Symphony in 1982.
Bondi's concerto was originally scored for solo cello and small orchestra—flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and strings. To make the concerto more accessible to school orchestras, Michele Winter created an arrangement for solo cello and string orchestra. Then, believing that violists might enjoy adding this concerto to their repertoire, she created an arrangement for solo viola with string orchestra. All the arrangements were made with the permission of the family of Eugene Bondi, and all proceeds from the sale of these publications will benefit the Hawaii Youth Symphony.