A List of Established Modern Violin and Bow Makers from the VSA's New Instrument Exhibit
Who exactly are some of the more established modern violin and bow makers who are raising the art of the craft to new level? We hope that the list below can serve as a helpful resource to anyone looking for a fine modern instrument.
Last month during the Violin Society of America's Convention, an entire exhibit was devoted to new violins make by well-established violin and bow makers. Many of these makers have won so many VSA awards that they were no longer eligible to enter the 2014 VSA Competition for makers (Winners of the 2014 Violin Society of America Competition are listed here.)
Called the "New Instrument Exhibit," it featured 120 instruments and bows by 85 makers. Players visited the room all week to test the violins and bows, and they often could meet the maker right there in the room; so it was possible to speak to a maker while testing his or her violin or bow. What an incredible opportunity!
Here is a list of the makers represented in the VSA's "New Instrument Exbibit," all with links to their contact information. I hope you find this to be helpful!
Andrew Carruthers of Santa Rosa
Bill Scott, Gregg Alf and Dennis Braun
Michael Fischer of Los Angeles
Theodore Skreko of Indianapolis Violins
Sam Zygmuntowicz and Joseph Curtin
Gregg T. Alf
Pablo Alfaro
Robert Ames
GianCarlo Arcieri
Dimitri Atanassov
Dorian Barnes
Gonzalo Bayolo
David Burgess
Andrew Carruthers
Chicago School of Violin Making
Carlo Chiesa
David L. Chrapkiewicz
Marco Coppiardi
Martin Cornelissen
Thomas Croen
Joseph Curtin
David Finck
Michael Fischer
Ronald L Fletcher
David Folland
Andrea Frandsen
Christopher Germain
Todd Goldenberg
David Gusset
Jonathan Hai
Mark Hollinger
Li Ming Huai
Indianapolis Violins
Feng Jiang
Chris Kiely
Felix Krafft
Francis Kuttner
Christophe Landon
Silvio Levaggi
Zhen Hua Ling
Douglas Martin
Jesse Maschmeyer
Steven M. McCann
Georg Meiwes
Ray Melanson
Thomas Meuwissen
Eduard Miller
Sally Mullikin
Orest Nakonechny
Oberlin Workshop
Phillippe Reynaud
James Robinson
Benjamin Ruth
Andrew Ryan
Julien Schneider
Kelvin Scott
Bill Scott, Jr.
Sigrun Seifert and Joseph Grubaugh
Nathan Slobodkin
Jan Spidlen
David Swanson
Joe Thrift
Stefan Valcuha
Jason Viseltear
Stephan Von Baehr
Marilyn J Wallin
Mark Hough
Ute Zahn
Samuel Zygmuntowicz
BOW MAKERS
Morgan Andersen
John Aniano
Pierre-Yves Fuchs
Lee Guthrie
David Hawthorne
Kwonsu Kim
Rodney Mohr
Evan Orman
Richard Riggal
Steve Salchow
David Samuels
Elizabeth Shaak
Matthew Wehling
Li Xueyong
Roger Zabinski
* * *
You might also like:
- Full coverage of the VSA Convention
- Top Modern Violin Makers Honored in the 2014 Violin Society of America Competition
- How Giora Schmidt found his modern violin
- Comparing Strads and Moderns, with Phillip Setzer, Cho-Liang Lin and the Paris Experiment researchers
Replies
Why was Christian Pedersen left off of that list? We purchased the violin he took to that competition and it is wonderful!
Hi Naomi,
He wasn't on the list of the violins featured in that VSA exhibit, but now that you have mentioned him, I will link to his information from your comment so that people can find him. For that matter, if anyone wants to add names, just do so in the comments and I will link!
I would suggest to add Donald M. Cohen, who works in Alexandria, VA, to your list.
He is one one of Anne Sophie Mutter's favourite bowmakers. She owns and plays several of his bows. He counts many world renowned musicians among his clients.
Mr Cohen is a true master of the art, creating fantastic bows that play beautifully and look beautiful.
www.cohenbows.com
Great list! very good for the makers and anyone looking for a violin or bow. We are fortunate to live in a time with so many good makers and a real sense of a craft among them. My main violin was made in 2009 by one of these makers, and I like it more and more all the time. It's not really a question of old or new, or China vs. Albania, or whatever, but just finding a fiddle you love at a price you can afford.
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October 23, 2014 at 10:37 PM · Hi,
We are so lucky to live in an era with so many fine makers! Great to see this list.
Laurie, could I suggest adding Emmanuel Bégin to the list of bow makers? He was the Gold Medal winner. I own and use one of his fantastic bows and love it!
Cheers!