Walter Pawlikowski was born in Maruszyna, Poland, not long after World War II. His older brother John became a well-known violin repairman and luthier, which inspired Walter to follow in ...
Bogdan Pawlikowski grew up in a family of violin luthiers. His uncle John and father Walter both achieved notoriety for their handed crafted instruments as well as their well-respected re...
Fritz Tasch was born in Kecskemét, Hungary and apprenticed in a violin making school in Mittenwald, Germany. He learned the trade of first building violins, violas, cellos and other histo...
Joe Spivey is a much-in-demand fiddle player in Nashville who has recorded and toured with Shania Twain, The Blackhawks, Dolly Parton and John Anderson, among others. He grew up in Shreve...
Eamon McLoughlin grew up in England where his father had a band, which later developed into a family Country style band that included Eamon and his two sisters. He attended college in Aus...
Jason Bartel opened Maple Leaf Strings in 2011, right across the street from his father’s business, Baroque Violin Shop, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The two companies helped each other, and ofte...
Rebecca Ensley studied clarinet in college and yet somehow got caught up in the crazy world of stringed instruments as a luthier and repair technician. It all started in 1991 when a frien...
Tiffany Johnson gets a real kick from serving her school accounts for Southwest Strings and helping each obtain the instruments and services they need in order to provide for their music ...
David Brock is a gifted violin and banjo teacher who provides private lessons at the Folk Music Center in Claremont, California. His long association with the musical instrument store goe...
Doug Kershaw is the wild man of Cajun music who has been a powerful ambassador for the musical style around the world for many decades. His passion and high energy performances gained the...
Vidal de Teresa closed his veterinary clinic in 2000 to pursue his dream of establishing a distribution company specializing in exotic woods. His vision was to supply luthiers of guitars ...
Stefano Trabucchi’s father loved music and encouraged his son to play the violin when he was eight. Stefano was fascinated by the instrument and by thirteen wanted to build his own. The f...
Cyril Maillot joined the SAVAREZ String Company in 1994 with a focus on updating the company’s computer system. He has held several positions over the years but now as CEO his main focus ...
Andy Leftwich began playing the fiddle at the age of six when his dad bought one from a local pawn shop. Andy grew up knowing he could always express himself though music and by the age o...
Jerry White and his brothers all played musical instruments growing up on their family farm in Wisconsin. Their father was a professional musician who played in popular dance bands. Jerry...
Roland Wilfer is a fourth generation master luthier of the Emanuel Wilfer Double Bass Master Workshop. The workshop was founded 1905 and is specialized in crafting fine double basses for ...
Thomas Hoyer is the product manager of string instruments and worldwide distribution for Paesold and Höfner. After receiving his master degree in violin making in 1998, he started in the ...
Dr. Susanne Schnitzer shares her memories growing up in the Kirschnek family. Grandfather Franz Krischnek, founder of Kirschnek String Instruments, was a businessman with worldwide connec...
Ilse Fischer delivered orders for Kirschnek on her scooter to the luthiers of the music town of Schönbach/Luby. Her father, Franz Kirschnek, established the company which specializes in e...
Gerhard Klier’s grandfather, Anton Schrötter, owned a violin shop and workshop in Cheb/Eger. In the 1920s several of Gerhard’s relatives moved to the United States. His uncle, Roman Klier...
Hagen Weise was born in Dresden. He shares his experience of his apprenticeship at Musima in a state run production in East Germany before 1989. Per day, four-hundred classical guitars we...
Günter Lobe is a violin maker who is known for his faithful copies of Stradivari and other famous violins. He was an apprentice from 1977 to 1980 in the Ernst Heinrich Roth workshop in Bu...
Bastian Teller is a bridge maker in the 5th generation. Since he was a child, Bastian wanted to step into his father Manfred’s footsteps. After receiving his state certified diploma for m...
Roland Schuster is a bridge maker in the town of Bubenreuth, which has been the center of production for string instruments in Germany since 1945. He started his craft in the workshop of ...
Rudolf Neudörfer, bow maker, grew up in the Czech Republic after 1945 and went to the Violin Making School in Luby, learning the craft of violin making from his teacher Bohumil Pechar and...
Harald Lorenz is the fourth generation of peg turners originating from a traditional farming community named Ursprung/ Počátky in the Czech Republic. The family looks back on 125 years of...
Karl Hoyer was born in Schönbach/Luby in the Czech Republic to a family of violin makers. As a child, he helped in his father’s workshop, and in 1944, went to the school of violin making ...
Hans Dörner grew up in the music town of Schönbach/Luby surrounded by musical instrument makers - including his grandfather the violin maker and tonewood dealer Joseph Trasny and his uncl...
Byron Berline established the Double Stop Fiddle Shop in Oklahoma back in 1995. The store became a major hub for musicians which bought and sold a great number of both vintage and new in...
Vince Massimino was surrounded by music growing up as both of his parents taught music. His father was also a composer who wrote educational music. As a result, Vince played in bands (wit...
Fred Oster was encouraged by his cousin to play the guitar as a youngster, which quickly expanded to include playing the mandolin and the five string banjo. By the time Fred was playing b...
Carola Schlegel is director of the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukrichen. This juried contest is held every year with the alteration of string and wind instruments. As ...
