Work In Progress

This viola is a commission from a family in the West Midlands, UK, for their musical son. He’s on a smaller viola at present and we have timed  making the viola, I hope, so he will be just ready for it when it’s finished. The back and front are made from solid wood, two pieces …read more

I don’t know if there is any connection with the Covid-19 pandemic, but I’ve had a surge in interest in my small violas for young players. Perhaps it’s just chance or maybe families and teachers are extra-focussed on the wellbeing and development of their children. Whatever the reason, I’m always happy to make these small …read more

This is fast becoming my signature violin model! I made it for the first time last year as a commission for a front-desk player in the Hallé Orchestra; I thought it would meet her requirements, and I love its quirky charm and asymmetry. There are many aspects of the design which work especially well to …read more

I’ve had a break of several weeks from the workbench: I had to move out of the workshop to work temporarily in the house in mid-January, as the workshop was suffering water ingress and had to be stripped out and tanked. Fortunately the builders finished just before the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown, and my wonderful brother …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, …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 …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 …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 …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 …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 …read more