Work In Progress

  This model is an old friend. The original belongs to David Strange, who has had a distinguished career as principal cellist at the Royal Opera House and  Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, and latterly as Head of Strings at the Royal Academy of Music. I met him early in my career and he kindly let me take measurements and drawings from his cello. He bought the first copy I made of it, way back in 1982 I think it was, which his son Alasdair now plays. It's a lovely model which has … [Read more...]

This is a lovely commission; a viola that has been ordered to be ready for a small viola playing son, and also when he has outgrown it to become part of the collection of the Benslow Loan Scheme; '"to put something back" as my customer says. Good for him. I've made many of these small violas which are great for their young players as they give a real viola sound, and are light and easy to play. I build them slightly differently from my conventional instruments; I make the back and front … [Read more...]

This viola is currently available for sale at £9000. Every year, the British Violin Making Association organises a Makers Day in London, a one-day exhibition of contemporary work. At this year's event I found myself eating my hurried lunch sitting next to Ben Hebbert, the BVMA chairman. He whipped out his phone and showed me photos of an extraordinary viola. "I think you should make a copy of this", he said, "I'll lend it to you." The next time I was in London, I took up his offer of the … [Read more...]

I met the original of this cello in 2015, when I and three colleagues made a collaborative copy of it for the Royal Northern College in Manchester. The RNCM owns this lovely instrument, and we were lucky to have it to hand while we were working. It's since joined my repertoire of cello models. This one is a commission from a Norwegian cellist; her husband already owns one of my violins so I feel quite privileged to be asked to make another instrument to join it. We spent some time discussing … [Read more...]

  This is something of a dream commission for me. I'm a big fan of the work of Paolo Maggini and many of my violas in particular are based on his work. He also made a number of violins during his lifetime, some of dimensions which correspond roughly to today's standard, and some which are rather larger. I've met the larger ones on occasion in real life, and have been beguiled by their rich and dark sound; in a quartet they make a wonderful tonal bridge between the brightness of the … [Read more...]

  This is a lovely project. It's a commission from close to home, a violinist in Manchester's Hallé Orchestra who lives quite near me. Philippa had seen one of my violins and heard quite a lot about my work before she visited. When we chatted about what she was looking for, I thought that a late Stradivari model would fit the bill, and started to think about which one to use as a model. While I was thinking, I paid a visit to the workshop of the Royal Academy of Music to say hello to … [Read more...]

This viola is a commission from a player who already has one of my violas but would like a larger size. He's a student at the Royal Academy of Music and has a busy time with competitions and concerts. I've made this model several times; it has been really popular with orchestral musicians and at present members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Bergen Philharmonic all use this one, as well as a few freelance players. It's based on a large tenor viola by the … [Read more...]

This has become one of my favourite cello models. I first came across it a few years ago when in collaboration with three fellow violin makers we made a copy of it as a project at the Royal Northern College of Music, which owns the original. It's a fine instrument with a rich quality of sound, and the versions I've made so far have all worked well. In fact this one is a commission from a Norwegian player who met the owner of the last one I made and liked it enough to commission one for … [Read more...]

I made a violin based on this model earlier in the year, for a front-desk player in the Hallé Orchestra. I really liked the model; its quirky asymmetry is appealing but more importantly the arching shapes seemed as if they would give a violin with power, richness and warmth. This proved to be so, and being aware that it's always good to consolidate, I'm making it again. The 'real' Stradivari is in the collection of the Royal Academy of Music, and I was fortunate to be able to spend a morning … [Read more...]

  This is one of my favourite viola models; I've made it many times and a number of my earlier versions are now playing full-time in orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and City of London Sinfonia. It's based on a tenor viola that is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, which I scaled down to a more manageable size. Its maker, Gasparo da Salo, was one of the principal makers of the early school at Brescia in Northern Italy, and was known … [Read more...]