Remembering Dr. William Sloan (1941-2025)

October 21, 2025, 3:31 PM · I'll never forget the first time I met Dr. William Sloan in person - because he immediately sent me on one of my life's most memorable and improbable adventures.

It was 2010, and Dr. Sloan showed up at the door of my Pasadena condo carrying a well-worn Gorge double-violin case, wearing his characteristic smile, fedora and a twinkle in his eye.

Dr. William Sloan. Photo used with permission, courtesy Cristian Coldea/World Trailblazers.

I invited him inside. Dr. Sloan then opened the case to reveal his two most prized worldly possessions: the 1714 "Leonora Jackson" Stradivari violin, and a 1742 Guarneri del Gesù violin (now named for him - the "Sloan.") Precious, irreplaceable, and valued together in the multiple millions. He was to leave this case with me, and then I would carry the two violins on an airplane from Los Angeles to Indianapolis. He needed me to deliver the instruments for use in a blind test of modern vs. fine old Italian violins at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis - I'd be arriving there before he could.

Dr. Sloan had been a Violinist.com reader for some time, and the Indianapolis competition's Executive Director Glen Kwok had suggested I might be a trustworthy violin mule for this task. I was nervous, for sure!

Dr. Sloan assured me all would be well (he was assuring me?) - the old Gorge case was both sturdy and inconspicuous. Just put it in the overhead department, he said with a smile. Completely agog with this task and with the ravishing instruments now in my charge, I assured him that I would guard them with my life. "I'm sure you will," he said. "I'll see you in Indianapolis!"

I've never been so on-alert for a plane trip! I managed to deliver the violins safely, and they thus became part of that storied experiment.

But more than that, I'd made a new friend - someone whose passion for the violin infected everyone in his orbit, and whose quiet decency in his human interactions was a perpetual lesson in grace.

Dr. William Sloan - Bill - passed away on Friday at age 84, after a long struggle with cancer. He was at home, with his wife, Judy, and two daughters at his side.

His departure feels like the passing of an era. When it came to the violin, Dr. Sloan was seemingly everywhere, supplying his limitless enthusiasm, deep knowledge and unyielding support.

He also brought a much-needed sense of fun and adventure to our little violin world: this was the Jewish man who held a "Messiah" sing-along in his living room every Boxing Day for more than 40 years. (Followed by lox and bagels for all!) He was a surgeon who late in life learned to make violins - and made seven of them. The renowned collector Dave Fulton said that it was his dear friend Bill who was "truly responsible for my becoming a collector."

Born in Chicago, Bill began taking violin lessons in elementary school and played in his school orchestra at Lake View High School. He went on to become a surgeon by profession, earning his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Chicago, where he also played first violin in the University Symphony Orchestra. That's also where he met his wife, Judy Beckner Sloan, a pianist who was studying music theory. Dr. Sloan specialized in urology and kidney transplants, and Judy went on to become a law professor. The two settled in Toledo, Ohio, then eventually moved to Los Angeles.

Toledo is where Dr. Sloan was living when he reconnected with David Fulton, whom he'd met back in Chicago, both of them playing in the University Orchestra. The two hit it off, and Fulton became swept up in Dr. Sloan's quest to own a Stradivari violin, literally coming along for the ride when Dr. Sloan drove up to Chicago's Bein & Fushi to look at fine violins. In 1982, Dr. Sloan purchased his first Strad, the 1727 "Holroyd," (and Fulton started his collection!) Dr. Sloan eventually traded in the "Holroyd" and bought the "Leonora" Strad and Guarneri del Gesù, which he kept for the rest of his life.

Toledo also is where Bill and Judy started their tradition of hosting local musicians on December 26 to play Handel’s Messiah.

The tradition was still going strong when I joined it for the first time, back in 2010. They now lived in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, in a beautiful home that had been previously owned by a former principal cellist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As I climbed the hill to their beautiful house, I could hear trumpets, then violins, violas and cellos, then singing... their home was filled with musicians.

Messiah 2012 - Dr. Sloan at far left, and conductor Frank Fetta far right.

I was one of a handful of people he actually called that year – the other 60-plus musicians simply showed up, having come in years previous and knowing where to flock and when. I kept coming back, and eventually I had the best seat in the house: sitting next to Bill to lead the second fiddles! Those parties often went on well after the Messiah and bagels, sometimes lasting deep into the night, with Dr. Sloan allowing people to borrow his famous violin and play chamber music.

Laurie Niles and Dr. Bill Sloan, Messiah second fiddles.

At age 65, a time when most people look to retirement, Dr. Sloan not only continued in his practice as a surgeon, but he also started on a completely new venture: making violins. He was first encouraged by Claremont luthier James Brown, who helped him buy his first tools and get started on his first violin. "He was a great student because of his surgeon’s steady hands," Brown said. After completing Brown's Violin Maker’s workshop in Claremont, Calif. Dr. Sloan traveled to Ohio to continue what he had started at the Oberlin Violin Makers Workshop. He repeated this two-workshop pattern every summer for the next 14 years, giving him the opportunity to study the art of violin-making with storied modern makers such as Joseph Curtin, Gregg Alf and Chris Germain. In turn, he gave the violin makers the opportunity to study the famous instruments he owned.

Dr. Sloan used his own Guarneri del Gesù as a model for his violins - and so he affectionately called the instruments he made "Sloaneri" violins. He generously loaned me the use his second violin - "Sloaneri 2" - when my own violin was being restored. I enjoyed its beautiful sound, as well as the knowledge that my friend had made this violin. Judy told me that he had made a total of seven violins.

And I can't neglect to mention, I also did have the thrill of getting to play on the "Jackson" Stradivari for a small performance, a violin-testing concert given for the benefit of violin makers. I played the first movement of the Bach Double with Elizabeth Pitcairn, who played her own "Red Mendelssohn" Stradivari - a humbling experience! It was challenging to simply pick it up and play it - it needed to be coaxed, and Elizabeth gave me some impromptu tips before we went on stage.

He could have kept his invaluable violins under lock and key, but Dr. Sloan allowed so many people - from Phil Setzer, Philippe Quint, Oleh Krysa and many other famous violinists - to regular orchestra musicians and amateurs - to play the fine instruments he owned. It was a very special experience that he was not just willing, but eager to share.

I will deeply miss Dr. Sloan, we all will. One of Dr. Sloan's very many friends, the Nashville-based violinist Ross Holmes (who played one of those "Sloaneri" violins on the stage at the Grand Old Opry!), summed it well: "It amazes me how such a small thing, a fiddle, can bring such diverse communities into shared space, how the joy of such a small thing might bind us together through peace and love. In all of my conversations with Bill, THIS was the spirit that translated from his heart to mine. His detailed knowledge of instruments and makers was impressive, but conversation would always shift from the physical 'thing' to the spiritual 'idea' and how the product of our instruments, the music in the air, was the most marvelous gift to receive."

A memorial service is being planned for November, I will posted details here when they become available.

Please feel free to share your own thoughts and memories in the comments.

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In writing this memorial for Bill, I came across this beautiful video, made by Cristian Coldea for World Trailblazers<, in which Dr. Sloan talks about his life, making violins, and more. Please enjoy.

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David Burgess

October 21, 2025 at 08:14 PM · Bill Sloan was a really neat guy!

His ownership of both a Strad and Guarneri and his willingness to share them could get him invited pretty much anywhere, including back-stage by major artists when they were performing. He had a ball doing things like that!

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Remembering Dr. William Sloan (1941-2025)

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