This is where I write about some of the broader ideas and events from the workshop and the world of violin making, including conferences I visit, interactions with other violin makers and musical events. Anything I think might be interesting to read.
Last weekend I was in Oxford for a conference of the British Violin Making Association. The title of the conference was Messiah 301, focussing on one of the most famous and notorious Stradivari violins, nicknamed the Messiah, which is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The violin was made 301 years ago. By …read more
Forty years ago, as a somewhat timid 18 year old, I started my training at the Newark School of Violin Making. We were the first intake in the new building, the old Westminster Bank building on Kirkgate, Newark. In those days the school was much smaller than it is now – an intake of twelve …read more
I’m sometimes asked about how you train to be a violin maker. These days the old apprenticeship system has all but died out, and instead the training is done in a college setting. The students are typically a hugely mixed bunch of all ages and nationalities. People come from very diverse backgrounds; some are skilled …read more
I’ve hit a huge milestone, my 300th instrument! This was an occasion to count up exactly what I’ve made. These are the numbers: 85 full-size violins 15 small-size violins 114 violas (15 inch and over) 35 small-size violas (my own models, 15 inch and under) 51 cellos I count myself fortunate to have had a …read more
