I grew up in the U.K. playing the violin and have been working with instruments professionally for over twenty two years. I trained at the world-renowned Newark School of Violin Making in England and then lived in New York City where I worked for P. & H. Perret Ltd for several years. I spent three years working with musicians in San Francisco and the Bay Area before settling in Toronto, Canada in January 2008.
I am one of a handful of Canadian members of The American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers and currently the only one in the Greater Toronto Area.
From the AFVBM website:
“The American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers was founded in 1980 to provide the musical community with a standard of work and expertise upon which they could depend.”
“In addition to submitting an example of his or her work for review, a prospective member must have at least nine years of experience working in the profession. Making and caring for fine instruments and bows require the highest levels of training and ethical standards.”
I was awarded a Certificate of Merit at the Violin Society of America’s 2014 International Violin and Bow Making Competition in Indianapolis.
I regularly attend the Violin Society of America’s violin making workshops which are held each summer at Oberlin College in Ohio. The workshops provide a forum for professional violin makers from around the world to work together and share knowledge and information.
I play one of my own instruments in the CorkTown Chamber Orchestra in Toronto.