modern violin maker
Sharing information with players and other makers is an important part of my work. I’ve been invited to give talks at conferences, and written articles for specialised publications. In 2015 I published a book of the writings of the late Koen Padding, whose expertise about violin varnish was recognised worldwide. For details of the book, visit the Violin Varnish book page of this site.
In the Spring of 2025, the unwelcome news broke that the courses at Newark School of Violin Making would close to new students as of September 2025. I was asked by The Strad magazine to write a piece about the school. The latest news is that as of September 2025 the current three year degree course has been replaced by unfunded one year courses. Watch this space…
Read here: End of an era?
Conscious that the future of the school might well be in doubt, I edited and produced a booklet detailing the history of the school, Newark School of Violin Making, The first 50 year 1972-2022. It’s available to purchase.
In March 2025 I organised a working weekend on behalf of Olympias Music Foundation, to repair and renovate their collection of violin family instruments, which are loaned to the children who benefit from their free music lessons.
Read here: Behind the Scenes at the Museum
A feature of a number of classical cellos is that the fronts are wider than the backs, and the ribs flare outwards. The article examines this and suggests a way of achieving this when making a new instrument. Published in Issue 83 of the BVMA newsletter, spring 2016
From the stable to the workshop: investigating the use of saltpetre in violin primers. Talk given at the 20th anniversary conference of the British Violin Making Association, September 2015
Read here: Saltpetre-BVMA_10.10
Article written for the Autumn 2011 issue of the Newsletter of the British Violin Making Association describing a project to make cello modelled after Gasparo da Salo with a team of colleagues.
Read here: Glasgow Gasparo Cello Project 2011
Article written for the Autumn 2010 issue of the Newsletter of the British Violin Making Association with my colleague William Castle, describing a day working together on different models of scroll.
Read here: A Tale of Two Scrolls
Decorative patterns on the back. Article reproduced by permission from the Strad Magazine, August 2010
Purfling the edges. Article reproduced by permission from the Strad Magazine, June 2010
Transcript of lecture/demonstration given to the conference of the British Violin Making Association at Dartington, Devon in September 2008. It gives a detailed description of the theory and practice of steam-bending the spruce to make fronts for instruments.
Article reproduced by permission from The Strad Magazine, October 2007
I have a real soft spot for this model, the first of Stradivari's violas. It's an outlier amongst … Read More...
