Home
Biography
How to Purchase
Instruments
Recommendations
US Musicians
Blog
Contact
We're enjoying a break over the holiday period and the workshop opens again January 3rd. Just before Christmas I took the photo below of my assistant, Charline Dequincey, doing the finishing touches on her next viola. The viola is based on a 17th Century instrument...
Two of my customers were very kind and brought their 'Harrison' violins to my shop for me to play and compare. They were based on the same violin- the Guarneri Del Gesu, 1742, 'Lord Wilton' , once owned by Yehudi Menuhin. One of the violins was completed in 2010 and...
In the workshop I use UV lights to tan my instruments before varnishing and we also use UV light to dry the varnish on the instruments. Last week I was replacing some old bulbs in my UV light box. At the light supply shop the owner was interested why I needed these...
Last week I was invited to the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa to an event welcoming a new cello to the 'Zukerman Musical Instrument Foundation'. The foundation works to acquire instruments for strings players of the NAC orchestra. The atmosphere in the rehearsal...
> . . My good colleague Kim Tipper in British Columbia and I were interviewed for this article on violin making. The writer nicely outlines some of the issues of making a fine violin today and comparing contemporary violins with older instruments. Though there are...
In the workshop, I've been busy varnishing a Stradivari model cello and another Guarneri violin on order. My assistant in the next room is making a copy of a viola made by G.P. Maggini in Brescia from the early 1600's. The work of Stradivari and Guarneri vary in many...
This week I flew to Washington to visit the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. Both museums have great collections of string instruments and in particular I went to see the Stradivari 'Servais' cello from 1701. I already had some information on the...
One of the important tools I use in the workshop are casts taken from great antique instruments. Our collection includes old style casts made from Plaster of Paris and more modern and durable plastic resin casts. We use these at the bench as a reference or inspiration...
In May I entered the International Mittenwald Violin Making Competition. This competition is held every four years and attracted 175 violin makers from around the world. The instruments are judged on sound and workmanship by an international panel of judges. The...
This month I've finished the woodwork of a Stradivari copy I'm making for a client in Quebec. It's now ready for varnishing and will be antiqued to capture the feel of the original violin. Before I glued the front on I stained the inside which is photographed below. ...