Work In Progress

I’ve had a long period of catching up with odd jobs, varnishing and finishing instruments, also preparing and cooking resins for varnish, and some work for the charity I chair which supports student violin makers, www.rabtrust.org. Now at last I’m properly back at the workbench, with an exciting new project. I’ve had this cello model …read more

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