The Master Craft Gallery at David Walter On Violinmaking

The Master Craft Gallery
at David Walter
Goldsmith & Platinumsmith
David Walter is a Vermont based designer, goldsmith and platinumsmith who has been producing
exceptional pieces of jewelry for clients since 1982. In 1985 he founded DF Walter & Co in New
York City producing pieces for Buccellati, Fred Leighton and Schlumberger, among others. David’s
primary focus is the design and production of one of a kind jewelry pieces on a commission basis.
He also specializes in the modification and repurposing of estate jewelry, as well as restoration and
repair.
As an exceptional craftsman himself, David holds in high regard craftsman of similar skill. In the
face of mass production of consumer items, craftsmen have retreated to private studios, many
of which are scattered in the hills of Windham County. David himself produced work of the
highest caliber for clients such as Tiffany & Co. and Buccellati out of his barn in Westminster for
twelve years. Three years ago he decided to be a bit more public about what he does, to share that
experience with others, and bring his business to the forefront of the community.
The concept behind the Master Craft Gallery is to provide a venue for similar artisans, make public
this very intense conversation between the craftsman and the material in which they work, to invite
discussion, appreciation, and greater understanding of what David and so many people in the
Vermont area create on a daily basis.
On Violinmaking
I view myself primarily as a toolmaker: I make violins to be used by musicians to order sounds in
the universe, to express their soul & spirit. As a user of good tools I know that tools have a beauty
that comes from elegance and efficiency of design, comfortable fit to the body, and a relationship to
a tradition of use. My work is limited by the nature of wood, the laws of physics, the shape of the
human body, and the imagination of my clientele.
Visually my work needs to be inviting to the player. It needs to look like it wants to be played and
will respond to the player’s wishes. The classical violin world is conservative, and old is usually
considered better, so most of my work is designed to look and feel old; most is modeled on specific
instruments of the past. I admire and strive for strength of character and personality, and willingly
sacrifice fineness of detail to achieve this strength.
Tonally I strive for ease of response and a full, flexible sound. I work on a wide range of models to
try to meet the needs and tastes of a wide range of players. The goal is a rich, complex foundation
with enough character and personality on top to provide projection and clarity of articulation.
I use local woods because I want my work to reflect the place and time of its making. I am an
American and I like to use American wood. My studio is located in West Brattleboro partially
because of its place within the Eastern forest and the maple and spruce with which I work.
Douglas Cox
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2009 String Quartet
Viola #647, 16-1/4” Guarneri
Violins #648, “Leduc” Guarneri & #649, “Kreisler” Guarneri
Cello #650, Del Gesù Montagnana
In the violin making world, the tradition of making a quartet usually means using matching wood,
related patterns, and stylistic consistency for the four instruments to make them look and sound as
much alike as possible. In the real world, very few performing string quartets use matched, or even
especially similar instruments.
One of my most important mentors in evaluating my work and helping me understand how a
successful instrument needs to function was Robert Koff, founding second violin of the Juilliard
String Quartet. He had strong feelings about the varied voices that were needed so a string quartet
could make full use of the dialog - or sometimes arguments - between the four parts that constitutes
the genius of this musical form.
When a commission for a quartet came my way in 2007, Robert’s ideas were in the forefront of my
mind and drove the design process. Particularly suggestive was Robert’s idea that the sound of the
second violin be like dark chocolate.
The quartet on display here is a slight reworking of the ideas in that 2007 quartet. My thinking in
designing this set of instruments is well described on my website.
2007 Lawrence University Quartet
in the Greenhouse, 2008
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#649, “Kreisler” Guarneri Violin
The First Violin
For the first violin I chose the Kreisler del Gesù violin as the model. This is
perhaps the most Strad-like of del Gesù’s violins, giving good power
and flexibility with a medium warm tone color. I was looking for
healthy, strong core and middle, typical violin sound.
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#648, “Leduc” Guarneri Violin
The Second Violin
One of the greatest influences on my work has been the mentoring and guidance
of Robert Koff, founding second violin of the Juilliard Quartet.
Robert believed that the second violin needed to be naturally
more powerful than the first in order to provide balance from
its position behind, and at lower pitches than the first. My goal
was a powerful violin with brilliant highs and a dark, woody low
end to provide transition to the viola sound. The “Leduc” pattern,
a favorite of mine, provides these qualities, and I chose back wood
from stock I know to provide a dark, woody color.
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#647, 16-1/4” Guarneri Viola
The Viola
The size of the viola was my first consideration. The 163/8”
body length is a size that most violists can handle. The pattern
from Andrea Guarneri, grandfather of del Gesù, is harmonious
and robust. If del Gesù had decided to build a viola he might well
have used a form he found sitting in the back of the family
workshop.
In a quartet I want a viola to have a distinctive color, with
breadth in the bass to blend with the cello, and enough
edge and core in the top to both sing and cut through the
violins.
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#650, Del Gesù Montagnana Cello
The Cello
The cello in a quartet must have an enormous bottom to support the edifice
above, and a singing top to intertwine with the upper
voices.
The cello for this quartet starts with a
moderately proportioned Montagnana
model, extends the rounds at top and
bottom, lengthens the mid-bout and reduces
the length of the corners to make it more
playable, and to incorporate the aesthetic and
style of late del Gesù. The lengthened
ƒ-holes complete the styling and work
to accentuate the bass.
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#5 Mittenwald School Viola 1968
I arrived in Mittenwald, Bavaria at the end of
August 1967, allowing myself a couple of weeks
to find my way around and get my rudimentary
German into usable shape before beginning
my studies at the State Professional School for
Violin Making (Geigenbauschule Mittenwald).
I entered the school in September and was
assigned to the workshop of Karl Roy. There
were three other beginners in the workshop
and ten or so other students who had been at
the school for a while. The course of study
in Karl’s shop was to do one major step of
construction, such as building a rib cage for two
violins, followed by single repetitions of that
process for two additional violins. When these
four violins were complete in the white (not yet varnished), a viola was to be built in one process.
I built this viola in the spring of 1968 on the school’s Strad pattern and varnished it the following
winter, counting it as my opus #5.
This viola, bearing the Mittenwald School label and brand, shows the typical traits of student work
from the School. The work and finish is clean, a bit fussy, and not fluid. The corners are inelegant
in concept and execution. The f’s are cut with too much care, leaving them too slight for the
proportion of the viola. Given my tendency to work quickly and loosely, the meticulous process and
workmanship standards of the Mittenwald School provided a good foundation for me to build on.
Karl Roy published in 2006 “The Violin, its History and Making,” which describes in detail the
making process and methods I learned from him and from the School.
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#45 Strad Model Violin, 1983
After spending the decade of the 1970’s working in the violin repair and restoration department
of J. Bradley Taylor in Boston, I returned to making instruments part time in 1980. I worked in
Boston, then for a year in Athens where my wife Lisa was doing graduate work at the American
School of Classical Studies, and then moved to Putney, Vermont in 1983 where Lisa took a position
teaching at the Putney School.
This violin is typical of my work from that early period, when I had learned a lot from working on
old master instruments, but was still working in the Mittenwald way. This Strad pattern violin is
clean and neat and has a harmonious balance of form and line. The varnish is fully applied and
shows surface texture — the result of time, not being polished, and the particular mixture of gums I
was using in my varnish at that time. The black applied to the scroll edges is a Strad practice.
It was about this time that I realized that my instruments did not play as well as I hoped and was
led to expect they would. I began looking critically at the acoustic assumptions and practices of the
Mittenwald School. My focus shifted from the “this is how violins should be made” approach of the
School, to “how can I make instruments that really play well.”
Production Records for #45
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Violin #45
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#611 “Harrison” Strad Baroque Violin, 2008
While working in Boston during the 1970’s, I was at the center of the early music and baroque
violin world. During the 1980’s almost a third of my work was in baroque form: some fifty violins,
violas, cellos, and violas da gamba.
At the time, I was working with the well-known baroque violinist Daniel Stepner, and he suggested
I join and get to know what is now the National Musical Instrument Museum in Vermilion, South
Dakota. One of their prize instruments is the 1693 “Harrison” Strad. The best preserved of the
“Long Pattern” Strads, this instrument has all the information needed to reconstruct the neck to its
original configuration. Conversations with the museum led to their commissioning me to make a
copy of the “Harrison” as it was when new, to be used both as a teaching tool and for performance
by artists affiliated with the Museum.
This dream commission led to a visit to Vermilion, which was documented by Charles Kuralt in his
CBS show “On the Road” and to an article in the Violin Society of America Journal.
Until recently the demand for my modern instruments has kept me too busy to work on baroque
style instruments. During the last few years, I have felt that my command of acoustic excellence
was at a significantly higher level than it was in the 1980’s, so I have ventured into making baroque
instruments again.
This violin, based on the “Harrison,” is what it might be like after 320 years had it not had its neck
altered, bar replaced, and been put into modern setup in the early 1800’s. Strad’s “long pattern”
is a design concept with a longer and narrower body than is usual. His experimentation with the
variables of this form from 1691-1699 is a study in methodical exploration and evolution.
This period has been of special interest because of my interest in unusual designs, and because the
1691 “Ginn” example, owned by Marylou Churchill of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was my first
big commission and an instrument I knew intimately for most of my working life.
Marylou Churchill
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Daniel Stepner, Baroque Violinist
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#694 “Rosenblith” Strad Violin, 2010
Eric Rosenblith was a celebrated violin teacher and
chair of the string department at New England
Conservatory in the 1980’s and a prominent part of
the Yellow Barn Festival in Putney, Vermont. I saw
him regularly and he graciously made his 1713 Grand
Pattern Strad available to me to study and then to copy.
The violin had been his since he was a young prodigy
in the orchestral world and fit his character and playing
style perfectly.
Eric Rosenblith
When I made my first copy in 1987, the large size of
the model allowed me to get a freedom and richness
of sound that had eluded me in my work. As I have
developed my ability to select and work with woods
and control plate stiffness more effectively, I have been
able to use smaller patterns for most of my work and
achieve many of the same qualities. But this pattern has
an important place in my heart for all it taught me. The
elegance of design and detail and inherent richness of
the model still earn this a “Golden Period” designation
in my work.
Strad’s studio built on many different size
models at the same time and the “Grand
Pattern” was the largest used during his
mid-period. One would assume that then,
as now, different players were looking for
different tonal qualities related to body
size and were physically comfortable on
instruments of different proportions.
Study of Eric Rosenblith’s 1713 Strad
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Production Records for #694
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#695 “Steinhardt” Storioni Violin, 2010
My desire to understand what is
important in a successful violin has
led to special interest in successful
instruments that do not follow
the usual patterns. Friends in the
Guarneri Quartet encouraged me
to approach Arnold Steinhardt,
first violin in the legendary group,
to study and copy the violin with
which he built his career.
The violin was cut down from a
viola made by Lorenzo Storioni,
one of my favorite makers. It was
relabeled as Guarneri at some
The Guarneri Quartet
point, likely when the conversion to
violin was made. The viola size ƒ-holes and heavy edging give a massive, somewhat blocky feel to
the violin. Unusual wood choice is one of the things I love about Storioni; it seems he could make
a great violin out of just about anything, a skill I try to emulate.
The back on this copy is of European maple and captures the
idiosyncratic and exuberant qualities of the original.
Arnold has told the story of his search for and relationship with
this violin in his recent book Violin Dreams. The violin’s history
is impressive, as it was used by Josef Roisman, first violin of the
Budapest String Quartet, the group that did much to make string
quartet performance popular.
Capturing the shape and major stylistic points of a violin is
not too difficult. Having everything fall into a harmonious
whole is a more complicated achievement, one most easily
achieved by adhering to one’s own tastes and practices. The
biggest challenge comes when copying and working with basic
design decisions someone else has made. It helps here that I
understand and admire Storioni’s style and approach to making,
and the pattern already has an eccentric quality. The happiest
point for me seems to be where the violin is 50% the personality
of the instrument copied, and 50% my own.
The large size and f’s of this violin give it a dark quality. The
somewhat heavy construction gives a resistance and core to the
sound yielding a brilliant yet very full top.
#695 Violin
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#695 “Steinhardt” Storioni Violin
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#730 A&H Amati 1610 Violin, 2011
Blanche Moyse was mentor, inspiration and
formidable taskmistress to generations of musicians
in Brattleboro and beyond. As a conductor and
interpreter, she offered rare and profound insights
into the music of J. S. Bach. As a passionate advocate
for community participation, she pursued her vision
with a tenacity that has made our town a Mecca for
music.
Blanche began the study of violin at the age of
eight. She went on to study with Adolf Busch, and
made her debut at the age of sixteen, playing the
Beethoven Violin Concerto with l’Orchestre de la
Suisse Romande. She married the flutist and pianist
Louis Moyse and, with Moyse’s father, flutist Marcel
Moyse, formed the award-winning Moyse Trio. Her
violin career ended in 1966 with an injury to her
bow arm. Forty years later, very late in her life, she
began playing the violin again. A small woman to
Blanche Honegger Moyse
begin with, her stature had shrunk with age and she
could no longer play comfortably on her full-size instrument. I was able to provide a 3/4 size violin,
which she used for several years with great pleasure.
Blanche generously allowed me to study her 1610 Brothers Amati
Violin, and I have made several violins on this pattern. My opus 730
is a tribute to Blanche and her legacy. This violin is made entirely of
wood harvested here in Windham County.
The wood for the back for this instrument captured my attention
from across the barn when I was looking at wood of a local
cabinetmaker. The piece was too small for his use, but too beautiful
to discard, so there it sat waiting to be discovered for this special violin.
#730 Back
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#730 A&H Amati Violin
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#738 “The Whetstone” Violin, 2011
In the spring of 2011, the Brattleboro-West Arts Group began a group endeavor, creating works
inspired by the Whetstone Brook, the watershed that defines our geography. I decided to make two
violins entirely from wood harvested in the Whetstone Watershed, where I have made my home and
made my instruments for 27 years.
I decided to make two of my favorite models of recent years: the 1790 Lorenzo Storioni and the
“Gariel” Stradivarius formerly owned by Jaime Laredo. I used the same wood for the back on both:
a piece of Curly Ash harvested by Dan MacArthur in Marlboro, Vermont, at the headwaters of the
Whetstone. The ribs are of the same Ash and the neck is Maple, harvested in the same area. Both
have locally grown Eastern Spruce tables, and the distinctive fingerboards are made of the hardest
wood we have locally – Hop Hornbeam or Ironwood.
I have used New England grown wood since early in my career, beginning with a Quaker friend
giving me a pile of wood his father had cut for a local Maine violinmaker in the 1920’s. When the
Mittenwald School took us for a hike into the Karwendel Mountains surrounding the town to see
the trees previous generations had cut for instrument making, the lesson I took away was not to use
European wood, but to use wood local to the maker. Part of the reason I moved to Brattleboro was
to be where good violin wood grows.
The Curly Ash back gives this violin a distinctive sound, more suited to the intimacy of a small
venue, where the smooth and subtle sound qualities can come through. The upper positions on the
e string are especially satisfying, with openness and complexity in the strings below.
My five-year association with the other artists of Brattleboro-West Arts has allowed my
understanding of myself and my work to deepen. Exploring the commonalities my working life
has with painters and potters, glass blowers and stone wall builders has helped me identify what
is unique and of most value in my work. Finding the balance between principles of harmony and
beauty, my personality as a maker, and usefulness to the owner are tensions I share with the other
artists and craftsmen in the group.
The Whetstone Brook in flood, August 2011
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#738 “The Whetstone” Violin
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#747 17¼” Cutaway Viola, 2011
Gasparo da Salò is credited by many, especially the residents of the small town of Salò on Lake
Garda, with inventing the violin in the mid 1500’s. He is best known, though, for his violas, which
command top placement in the viola world, and the style and design concepts of his work are
thought to have influenced Joseph Guarneri del Gesù in his greatest work 200 years later.
As would be expected in examples of a new art form, Gaspar’s work is robust, if not elegantly
proportioned, and simple in detail. I feel in his work a certain affinity with Shaker Furniture.
The special challenge in building a viola is obtaining its characteristic dark, woody tonal quality
while keeping the instrument a manageable size, given the physical limits of the human body. This
viola adapts Gaspar’s design, with the goal of maintaining the air volume and plate surface area
while reducing the size as experienced by the player. The upper and lower bouts are asymmetric in
order to bring the viola closer to the player and to allow easier reach up the fingerboard by the left
hand. My aesthetic sensibility and understanding of acoustic function limit how much asymmetry I
am comfortable building into my violas. I have been making similar slight modifications to smaller
viola and violins to meet the needs of players of slight stature.
Paul Laraia, violist
Paul plays on Viola #478
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#747 Cutaway Viola
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#752 Testore Viola, 2011
Sometimes the muses appear unexpectedly, and their inspiration will not be denied. Two
summers ago I had two almost identical and very unusual violas show up in my shop. One,
attributed to Paolo Antonio Testore, a Milanese luthier who lived from 1700-1767, was being
played at Marlboro by Hsin-Yun Huang of Juilliard; the other was at Yellow Barn with Maria
Lambros of the Peabody Conservatory. These very small instruments (15 5⁄8”) are basic, nofrills, and workmanlike. The purfling is painted on, the scrolls are simple, the wood is plain.
It’s unlikely these violas have ever been copied, but those who play on them love the sound
and playability: a big voice in a small and manageable package. I was intrigued and went
quickly to work.
The viola on display is inspired by the Lambros instrument and has a cherry back, sides
and neck. The original is described as being of “fruit wood” with a look similar to our local
cherry. The original, like this instrument, has a knot in the back, though in a different place.
The choice of materials and the
size and shape are traditionally
more varied and free for violas
than for violin, with interesting
results. For me this diversity
works well and allows for greater
exploration of materials and styles.
I have for a while been making
violas with backs of willow and
birch rather than the usual maple.
The success of these has inspired
trials with other less common
woods. In 2010 I completed two
violas with local butternut backs
and one with cherry, and all three
turned out very well. Using these
lighter woods gives the violas an
easier response and a dark, warm
tone color, expanding the range
and variety of violas I am able to
offer.
Maria Lambros with her Testore Viola
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#752 Paolo Antonio Testore Model Viola
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#761 “Habeneck” 1734 Strad, 2011
Antonio Stradivari lived from 1644 or 1648 to 1737. He was a brilliant thinker and craftsman, and
he and his shop produced a very large and well-documented body of work. Coming to violinmaking
with 200 years of evolution of the instrument before him, he was able to synthesize the work of his
forebears and apply his own genius to systematically experimenting with the form and materials to
achieve results many feel have not been surpassed.
Like most violinmakers, I look to Stradivari for inspiration and instruction. In my case the
instruction has not been “do it this way!” but more “here is how to think about the violin and here
is how to experiment and evolve”. The vast production of his studio —about 600 instruments still
exist from a likely output of around 1200 — and their prominent placement in museums and with
top players, allows for easy study and comparison.
The “Harrison” copy in this show is an example of Strad’s early style. The “Rosenblith” of his
“Golden” mid period, and this violin, patterned on the “Habeneck” of 1734, represent his late
work. As I grow older, I am interested in how the aging process shows up in a maker’s work: how
decreasing vision, stiffened hands, loss of high frequency hearing, and reduced stamina interact
with the experience of having made hundreds of instruments to yield a particular type of work at
this time in the life of the maker.
The characteristics of the original that I tried to capture in this violin are a heavier and less refined
line to the edge work and arch, blockier
scroll and stiffer f holes. While the work in
the original is likely mostly that of his sons,
they were at the time this violin was made
nearly 70 years old themselves.
The slab-cut back of this violin, from a
wonderful red maple log cut in 1985,
makes a warmer, smoother finish to the
sound of this violin than the crisper, edgier
sound had the same wood been cut on the
quarter.
“Stradivari and Pupil”
Statue in the Piazza San Domenico, Cremona, Italy
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#761 “Habeneck” Strad
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#795 Viola Pomposa, 2012
The violin family tree has many branches, some of which are sort and
stubby like the 6-string Arpeggione, for which Schubert wrote his
famous sonata now played by cellists. Another earlier branch was
the Viola Pomposa, or five-string viola. J. S. Bach is credited by some
with inventing the Pomposa around 1725, and it was widely used
throughout the 18th century. Perhaps with this example in hand, we
can gain some insight into why it fell into disuse.
This is the youngest of the instruments in the show and was conceived
last summer when a client asked for a 5-string viola on which to play
the sixth of the Bach cello suites, a work written either for a 5-string
violoncello piccolo, or for the Viola Pomposa. That suite is now usually
performed in a transposed and simplified form on the conventional
4-string cello. I had just sold a 5-string violin I had made as an
experiment many years ago, and was intrigued by the chance to revisit
the structural, acoustic, and ergonomic issues
with 5 string instruments.
This instrument was designed and
roughed out in September of 2012
and the woodwork was completed
on October 31, 2012. The staining and
sealing process was finished on December
12, 2012 and the viola was hung in the sun to
harden and darken. Varnishing began on
April 12, 2013 and the viola was set up on
May 6, 2013. It will need several months
of playing before the adjustment of
the viola is stable and it will be
ready for serious evaluation and
sale.
As displayed, the Pomposa is set
6-String Arpeggione
up with modern strings and tuned
like a viola with an added E string on top. It will lend itself to a
baroque set up with gut strings and to tunings other than the
modern 5ths.
Opus 795, Viola Pomposa 2012
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The Making Process
According to some records, Antonio
Stradivari was born in 1648. I was born in
1948, making me his same age, 300 years
later. For some years I have been building
a series of 300th anniversary instruments,
giving me an excuse to study in greater
detail a sequence of Stradivari instruments
built at about the same point in Strad’s life
as I am in mine. In 2013 I connect afresh
with the wonderful “Rosenblith” 1713 Strad.
(See #694, “Rosenblith” Strad.)
In making a copy I begin with tracing,
measuring, and photographing. None of
these methods capture or tell the whole
story, and none give the visceral sense of the
real violin and the ability to experience the
play of light through the varnish and off the
subtle surfaces of the wood. Nor do they
capture the feel of holding a great violin
and how it responds to the voices and other
sounds around it.
The making process begins with creating
a template from the tracings which define
the inside shape of the ribs, and from that
template I make a form board on which
Graduating the top plate.
the rib cage is built. Patterns are also made
defining the shape and proportion of the scroll and sound holes – the “ƒ-holes” or “ƒ’s.”
The materials are chosen to match the original, or to achieve another tonal or aesthetic goal.
The top and back plates are roughed to
shape. I then use a treatment process to
improve their tonal properties. The plates
are allowed to rest for a month or so to
allow any tensions in the wood to work
themselves out.
The rib cage is built around the form board
from ribs bent to shape on a hot iron and
glued to interior blocks carved to shape.
Liners are added to stiffen the ribs and
provide additional gluing surface for the
plates.
The plates are matched to the rib cage and
the arch and outline gradually brought to
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Rib cages ready for top & back plates.
shape with small planes and scrapers. Purfling (black & white inlay) is set into the edge to prevent
cracks from entering the body of the violin and to visually accentuate the outline.
The plates are graduated — brought to
the appropriate thickness — to achieve
the desired stiffness and flexibility and the
sound holes and bass bar are added to the
top. The labels and identifying marks are
added, the interior sealed, and the body is
closed.
The neck and scroll are carved using knives
and gouges, the fingerboard attached, and
the neck mortised into the upper block.
Testing the flexibility of the top plate.
Through most of this work I refer to photographs as
a guide to style. After final cleaning of the surfaces
of the violin, the wood is stained and sealed, and the
violin hung in the sun so that ultraviolet light will
harden the surface and darken the color of the wood.
Varnish is applied to protect the wood from dirt,
give light the ability to penetrate and reflect off the
surface of the wood, and provide a hard surface to
improve acoustic connection with the air.
Carving a scroll.
The violin is then set up with pegs, sound post,
bridge and strings.
At this point the violin is half finished.
It will be the playing, weather changes,
accidents and repairs over the next 200
years that will give the violin its identity and
soul.
Setting Purfling.
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The Tools
In the craft process, the craftsman learns from the materials and tools he handles as much as from
tradition and imagination. The tool is the extension of the hand to move and shape, and also to feel,
experience, and know. The tool is not only the instrument through which the intent of the maker is
applied to the materials, but more importantly the portal through which the craftsman experiences
and comes to understand the material: what is can do, what it wants to do, what it is meant to do.
Despite the development of power tools and digital processing, 95% of the work of making a violin
is hand work, and the tools I use are only slightly evolved from the tools Stradivari used 300 years
ago.
As the process is mostly subtractive
(removing wood), the tools are mostly
cutting tools of various kinds and shapes:
Knives
Gouges
Chisels
Planes
Files
Scrapers
The materials must also be held and
measured — clamps and jigs of various
kinds become old friends.
Tools specific to violin making:
Finger planes used in shaping the top and back
Purfling cutter and chisel
(purfling is a black and white inlay inside the edge of the violin)
Dial thickness gauge
Soundpost setter
(the soundpost is a spruce dowel fit between the top and back near the bridge)
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The Players
Marissa Licata
“The violin does what I want. I have never been in a situation where it couldn’t express what I desired. I
am now experimenting with percussive sounds and overtones, releasing the voice inside. I am bonded to this
violin, my violin.”
Violinist Marissa Licata has a wide range of performance experience in diverse genres from Rock
to Latin, Jewish Music (Klezmer), and Classical. In 2008, touring and recording with Rock legends
such as Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Licata has gained much
recognition for her technical and musical versatility. US tours with Jethro Tull in 2006 and 2007
have featured her as the first violinist
of the Calliandra String Quartet,
concertmistress for Ian Anderson’s
“Orchestral Jethro Tull”, and taken
Marissa to world-renowned venues
throughout the North East and
Midwest including New York City,
Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis.
Mixing traditional Klezmer music
with the new Latin beats of today, Ms.
Licata has performed at several of
Boston and New York’s well known
Latin dance and Rock clubs including
Club Lido, Sambuca Night Club,
T.T. the Bear’s Place, and Makor.
With a background as a classical
violinist, Ms. Licata has crossed
Photo © John Hammond
the bridge into the world of
improvisation. In 2005, Marissa
joined the Tami Machnai Ensemble (TME) based in Boston, improvising on arrangements of
traditional folk songs from Israel, and originals by Ms. Machnai. With the TME, Ms. Licata has
performed regularly at Ryles Jazz Club and Karun in the Boston area, and had the opportunity to
travel, giving concerts at San Francisco’s Museum of Art for the Israeli Consulate, and in New York
at Satala for the group’s album release in 2006.
At age 18, Marissa’s classical music experience landed her a date as guest soloist with the National
Orchestra of Honduras in 2003. She was an orchestral member of the Youth Orchestra of the
Americas and the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra at the New England Conservatory from 20012005, participating in four international tours with performances at Symphony Hall and Jordan
Hall (Boston); in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center, in New York City at Lincoln Center, as
well as world renowned venues throughout North, Central, and South America.
33
The Players
Jamecyn Morey
“I found my Cox violin at Carl Becker’s shop after searching in Chicago
for a few months. I knew as soon as I played on the instrument that it
really matched the sound I was looking for; it felt like my own voice right
away. I have been happy with it for five years and it has played hundreds of
concerts in that time!”
Jamecyn Morey, violinist, is an active orchestral and chamber
musician. Jamecyn studied Violin Performance at the Interlochen
Arts Academy High School, and received degrees from Indiana
University and Roosevelt University in Chicago. While in Chicago,
she was a member of the Civic Orchestra, and participated in a
chamber music community engagement residency program with
the Chicago City Colleges and Chicago Public Elementary Schools.
She spent next three years as a fellow with the New World Symphony
in Miami Beach, FL. In Miami, Jamecyn served as Violin Faculty at
the New World School of the Arts and the Miami-Dade Community
College, and was a member of the Florida Grand Opera Orchestra.
Jamecyn lives in Albany, NY and performs in a Violin/Cello Duo, “The Copernicus Duo”, with her
husband. They were featured as part of the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts
“National Showcase” in January 2009, and will perform as soloists in Lincoln Center in NYC in
Spring 2010. Jamecyn is a member of the Miami Music Project String Quartet, and performs often
with the Sarasota Orchestra, Glens Falls Symphony, and the Albany Symphony.
Johnny Bergin
John Bergin plays on Cox violin #551, patterned after a violin
by J. B. Vuillaume which was in turn a copy of a violin by
Joseph Guarneri “del Gesù”, formerly owned and played by
Robert Koff.
John is the youngest of 5 in a family that appreciates music.
His dad is a violist and a microtonal composer, his mom
a pianist. John started Suzuki lessons at age 5 on a 1/10th
violin.
John plays in both NEC’s Youth Repertory Orchestra
and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. He went to
Interlochen Arts Camp for 5 summers, studying violin and
playing in the orchestras and chamber groups. In 2010 he
went to England on tour with the BYSO.
34
William Johnston
The Players
“In 2006, I had been looking for a new viola for
over three years and had nearly given up hope that I
would ever find an instrument I wanted to buy, when
a colleague who had spent the summer at Marlboro
suggested that I give Doug a call. When Doug sent me
this viola, I knew my search was over. My instrument
has a nearly ideal blend of the warmth and richness
everyone wants in the viola sound, with enough edge to
be heard in an ensemble.”
William Johnston leads a varied career as a
violist and educator based in Atlanta. Praised for
his “richly lyrical tone and expressive playing”
(ArtsATL.com), he has appeared throughout the
country in solo and chamber music performances,
including recent appearances with the ensembles
Fringe Atlanta and Sonic Generator. William is
in demand as an orchestral musician, serving
as principal violist of The Atlanta Opera and
performing with numerous orchestras in the
southeast. He has performed at many summer
festivals, including Aspen, Kent/Blossom, and
Sarasota, and is currently principal violist of the
Utah Festival Opera.
William is equally committed to music education.
He is a registered Suzuki teacher, and completed
long-term teacher training in books 1-4 with Kimberly Meier-Sims at the Cleveland Institute of
Music. William has presented masterclasses at colleges and universities, including Florida Southern
College, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Valdosta State University. He currently
maintains a private studio of children and adults, and is an active clinician in the Atlanta area.
William is a native of Sarasota, Florida and graduated from Pine View School in Osprey. Beginning
music lessons with the piano at age four, he later studied the viola with Dorothy Stahler, Alison
Heydt, Victoria Chiang, James Dunham, and Robert Vernon. He is a graduate of the Peabody
Institute and Rice University, and is the first violist to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts degree
from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Visit William online at www.williamjohnston.info.
35
The Players
Melissa Wilmot
“It was the summer of 2009, and I was in residence at NEC in Boston
as a member of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. I was at an
interesting place instrument-wise. I’d been looking and looking for
instruments, but to no avail (at least in terms of ones that could live up
to my standards without requiring me to win the lottery), and I had
been dealing with a revolving door of instruments on loan. A friend who
had an instrument from Mr. Cox let me know he’d be visiting NEC, so
with a very good dose of pessimism I climbed the stairs to go meet Mr.
Cox and some of his instruments in a practice room.
I found one of the most knowledgeable and genuine people I have met
in the luthier business, and I also met a huge variety of his instruments
all of which were unique and likable in their own way. Gradually after
playing them, and working with Mr. Cox who was graciously fine
tuning them, a clear favorite emerged. YOA was just about to de-camp
and take off on tour, but I could not leave the violin behind, I knew it
was the one, and I haven’t looked back.
Mr. Cox’s instrument has grown and developed extensively with me
over the past four years, and is continuously garnering the interest and
compliments of colleagues, many of whom have remarked how much it
has developed, and have been surprised it’s only a few years old. I am
extremely grateful to Mr. Cox for being so helpful, and for creating an instrument that is such a joy to play,
and has served me so well in so many different settings.”
Canadian violinist Melissa Wilmot has performed extensively in Toronto both in recitals, and as
a member of the National Ballet Orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, the Esprit Orchestra. In 2010 she
made her Carnegie Hall debut as a member of the only North American string quartet selected
to participate in the Kronos Quartet’s professional training workshop. As an active recitalist, and
participant in the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Mannes Institute and Festival for Contemporary
Performance, Banff Masterclass and Festival Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestra Academy of
the Pacific, Melissa has performed in cities ranging from Powell River, Kelowna and Banff, to NYC,
Denver, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Washington DC.
At the Glenn Gould School Melissa was a scholarship student, on the Dean’s List, a prize winner
in the chamber music competition, and was featured frequently as concert master of the Royal
Conservatory Orchestra under maestros Johannes Debus, Uri Mayer, Zubin Mehta, and Peter
Oundjian. Melissa is the recipient of the 2012 Sir Edmund Walker Dorothy Isabella Webb Trust
scholarship for graduating students from The Glenn Gould School as well as the 2011 Orford
Quartet Scholarship from the Ontario Arts Council.
She was member of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra from 2001-2008, was featured on
numerous occasions as soloist with them, most recently in John Corigliano’s Red Violin Chaconne.
She also performed with Ballet Kelowna across British Columbia from 2006-2008, and as soloist
with the Kelowna Canada Day Pops Orchestra in 2008. Melissa was the recipient of the 2007 City
of Kelowna civic award for ‘Teen Honour in the Arts’, and in the same year was selected to be the
strings representative for BC at the National Music Festival after winning Performing Arts BC.
36
The Players
Aaron Mossburg
“The Douglas Cox viola that I’ve been playing on for the last year is quite an amazing instrument. The
sound is very responsive and has a wide range of colors. It projects well and is malleable in any sort of
environment, whether a large or small hall, wet or dry, reverberant or acoustically dead. The sound is easy
to adjust. This is important when switching from solo to chamber music to orchestra playing, switching
from Bach to Schnittke. Each requires a certain style of maneuverability - never a problem with this viola.”
Aaron Mossburg, violist, has been
described as having a “fine, warm
sound” (Cleveland Classical) and
“much personality and a clear
command” (Sarasota Herald Tribune).
A native of rural Indiana, Aaron is
currently a senior at the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music where he
studies viola with Peter Slowik.
In November of 2011, Aaron gave
his solo Carnegie Hall debut, which
was sponsored by the Netherlands
American Community Trust. At the
age of 16, Aaron soloed with the
Indianapolis Symphony as well as
with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic
on several occasions. Aaron has performed in other venues such as the Neue Gallery of Art in
New York City and the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia. At Oberlin, he has participated
on numerous occasions in the Danenberg Honors Recital, both as a soloist and as a chamber
musician. In the past couple of years, Aaron has also performed at Oberlin’s “Music at Oakton”
concert series in the Washington D.C. area. In April 2012 he was first prize winner in the senior
division of the Ohio Viola Society Competition.
During his sophomore year at Oberlin, Aaron was asked to serve as principal viola on the Oberlin
Orchestra Asia Tour, where they performed throughout China’s most prestigious concert halls, as
well as the Esplanade in Singapore. Aaron frequently substitutes with the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra, Canton Symphony, and the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida.
In 2008, Aaron was selected to take part in the Perlman Music Program, founded by Itzhak
Perlman and his wife, Toby. He has been very fortunate in recent years to have studied and
collaborated with such teachers and artists as Itzhak Perlman, Heidi Castleman, Paul Katz, Donald
Weilerstein, and Merry Peckham. Aaron has been a participant at the Sarasota Music Festival in
Sarasota, Florida, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Blue Hill, and the Pacific Music Festival
in Japan. Other past teachers and instructors include: Kim Kashkashian, Robert Vernon, James
Dunham, Carol Rodland, Jeffrey Irvine, Barbara Westphal, Michael Isaac Strauss, Ronald Copes,
Pamela Frank, Mark Sokol, Robert Levine, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Cleveland
Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Cavani String Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Pacifica Quartet, St.
Petersburg Quartet, and the Jasper Quartet.
37
The Players
Sandro Leal-Santiesteban
“When trying out some of Mr.. Cox’s violins I felt I wasn’t
educated enough to choose the right one. But when I played
his Guadagnini copy, it sounded like I was playing an old
instrument. It was a really good feeling. Having an instrument
like this gives me confidence technically and musically, and
inspires me.”
As a young child, Sandro Leal-Santiesteban accompanied
his mother, a pianist, to rehearsals and lessons. He heard
the Franck sonata for violin and piano at one such rehearsal
and fell in love with the violin. He started lessons at 7.
In 1999, when Sandro was 16, Benjamin Zander went
on tour to Cuba with the New England Conservatory
Youth Philharmonic Orchestra to perform with his
school orchestra in Havana. When Sandro saw the level
of commitment in the American kids, he realized that
he needed to leave Cuba and study in the US. It was a
challenge on many levels, especially since relations between
the US and Cuba are so poor; but he was lucky to be
granted a visa in 2001, and he came to Boston to study with
Marylou Speaker Churchill (1945-2009).
Before coming to the States, Sandro never had the chance to play a good violin. He had a poor
instrument with no projection, and a bow held together with scotch tape.
It was through the generosity of the Douglas Cox Scholarship program and a family friend, the
Hon. Patrick J. King (Ret.), that Sandro was able to purchase violin #428, a Guadagnini bench copy
dated 2000. With that violin he did his bachelor’s degree at Eastman School of Music; was sublisted at the New World Symphony; was chosen as a semi-finalist at the Sphinx Competition; and
received his master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Fine Arts. He says, “I
don’t think I would have succeeded at these endeavors without the Guad.”
However, his first two attempts at the Carnegie Mellon Concerto Competition were not successful.
His teacher at Carnegie-Mellon, Mr. Cyrus Forough, suggested that he needed a more powerful
instrument with more personality. He introduced Sandro to Douglas Cox’s violin #503, a copy of
Eric Rosenblith’s Stradivarius. Paul and Lynda Becker at Carl Becker and Son, Ltd. kindly allowed
Sandro to use #503 in when he entered the concerto competition for the third time. He played the
Ranjbaran Violin Concerto, a contemporary piece that required a lot of tone projection, and this
time won first prize. Paul Becker then helped to engineer the swap of #428, the Guadagnini model,
for #503, the Rosenblith Strad model.
About his relationship with Marylou Churchill, Sandro writes, “Marylou Churchill gave me a
different perspective to look through music. Every time I had a lesson with her she would say to me,
“you have to love it [the violin, music]”, and I did. Marylou was a person with so much love to offer
for everyone. Ever since I met this extraordinary human being it was like discovering the violin and
music all over again. My career would not have been the same without her.”
38
The Players
T. J. Wiggins
“Being able to explore and project a huge array of rich sounds, colors, and styles has been a dream come
true. My Douglas Cox violin has been the perfect tool for showcasing my musicality and creativity as a
soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. It allows me to connect with various audiences around
the world through performances of music from different time periods and eclectic styles.
I am truly grateful to Doug for the opportunity to use such an amazingly mature-sounding young
instrument. I look forward to seeing how
much it continues to develop and surprise
me in the years to come.”
Currently a member of the prestigious
Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland,
violinist Teddy Wiggins appears regularly
on some of the world’s finest stages.
Often performing as Concertmaster
or Principal Violin, Teddy can also
be heard in the Royal Conservatory
Orchestra in Toronto. An avid orchestral
musician, his other experience includes
the New England Conservatory’s Youth
Philharmonic Orchestra, Youth Orchestra
of the Americas, and the Thunder Bay
Photo © Nathan Saliwonchyk, 2012
Symphony to name a few. In addition, he
has performed under the baton of many leading conductors such as Mario Bernardi, Zubin Mehta,
Charles Dutoit, Manfred Honeck, Gianandrea Noseda, and Valery Gergiev.
An active chamber musician, Teddy was a founding member of The Annex Quartet. In 2010, The
Annex Quartet was invited to work beside the Kronos Quartet, making their Carnegie Hall debut.
In addition, while involved in the group the quartet’s performances included Toronto’s Luminato
Festival 2011, Stratford Music Festival 2011, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheater, Mazzoleni Hall
and the Bloor Street United Church. Currently, Teddy is also proficient with duo, trio, and quintet
repertoire. Chamber music tours have lead him to France, China, Canada, and performances in
Boston’s Symphony Hall.
Also an active soloist, Teddy has performed numerous recitals in cities such as Boston, St. Louis,
and Toronto. His recent solo appearances include recitals at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto in
December 2010 and in Mazzoleni Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music in May 2012.
Teddy is a recipient of the Rachel Barton Pine Education and Career Grant. He recently completed
a Performance Diploma at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory under the guidance
of Paul Kantor and Barry Shiffman. He looks forward to continuing his graduate studies at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison with Felicia Moye in the fall of 2012. An alumni and graduate of
the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Boston, his principal teachers include Paul Kantor, Kelly Barr
and Winifred Crock. Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Cavani String Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Pacifica
Quartet, St. Petersburg Quartet, and the Jasper Quartet.
39
The Players
Alistair Leon Kok
“I was initially attracted by the graceful, petite proportions, elegantly placed f holes and deep archings
characteristic of its Amati design. The wood choice is absolutely striking. With a deeply flamed one-piece
back and beautiful, multi-layered varnish that brings out the numerous facets of the close grain, this violin
is as beautiful to behold as it is to hear. The tone is rich and complex with a warmth and sweetness I would
expect from a fine antique Italian instrument. The
response is quick and easy, making this violin a pure joy
to play. Mr.. Cox’s workmanship is first-rate and I am so
impressed by the meticulous attention to detail he took
during the creation of this magnificent instrument.”
Alistair is a graduate of the Longy School of Music
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He currently resides
in Blacksburg, Virginia and freelances in the area
with the Roanoke Symphony and also in the greater
Boston area with Symphony by the Sea.
Photo ©Teresa Tam
In Virginia he collaborates with harpsichordist, Judy
Bevans, and performs on a Baroque Violin made
by Douglas Cox in 1988, #118. The instrument was
formerly owned by violinist, Robert Koff, and was
modeled after an Amati belonging to Blanche Moyse.
Heather Ensley
“I have loved the sound of my violin from the first bow stroke. The quality of its tone and craftsmanship are
exceptional by any standard. My violin is my most prized possession, my trusted friend, and my constant
companion. I am very proud to own it.”
Heather Ensley, a New England native, received her B.A. in Violin Performance from Canadian
University College in 2011. Performing as concertmaster and soloist with the Canadian University
College Chamber Orchestra, Heather was privileged to tour throughout the U.S. and Canada.
During her time at CUC Heather studied violin with Naomi
Delafield and Jennifer Penner, and continues to study privately with
Andrea Neumann of Calgary, Alberta.
An avid performer, Heather continues to play with the CUC
Chamber Orchestra as an alumnus. In addition to regular solo
performances, she enjoys playing chamber music and competing at
music festivals. Heather has won Best Overall String Performer in
the Lacombe Music Festival two years in a row.
Heather is an enthusiastic teacher and maintains a busy violin
studio in her home. She is also an instructor with Strings for Kids,
a program that provides weekly group lessons to school children
with special needs. She currently resides in Alberta with her
husband Josh, a cellist, and their two cats.
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