INDIVIDUALS INTERVIEWED FOR THE ROSIN THE BOW SERIES – In alphabetical order
Stephen Ackert – former director of the music division at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
Greg Alf – American-born violin maker and teacher of violin making living in Venice, Italy. He has served on the Oberlin College summer violin making workshop facultysince 1996 and was violin making editor for the Journal of the Catgut Acoustical Society. He holds membership in the Violin Society of America, the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, and the Entente Internationale des Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art.
Dr. Aaron Allen – after earning his Ph.D. in music at Harvard, Aaron focused his attention on the environmental impact of musical instrument making on the natural world. He is on the faculty of the school of music at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro where he also serves at the university’s academic sustainability coordinator.
Frank Almond – concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra whose “Lipinski” Stradivari violin was stolen and then recovered in 2014.
Paul Anastasio – violinist whose musical interests range from bluegrass and western swing to jazz and the traditional violin music of Tierra Caliente del Balsa in central Mexico. He has toured with Asleep at the Wheel, Merle Haggard, and Joe Venuti.
Peter Anderson – owner of Anderson Musical Instruments Solutions, LLC, currently insuring over a billion dollars worth of violins and other instruments.
Darol Anger – violinist, teacher, and founding and past member of the David Grisman Quartet and the Turtle Island Quartet.
Michael Avsharian, Jr. – violinist and co-founder/vice-president of Shar Music in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Stephen Bacon – violin maker and owner of Bellwood Violin and Recorder Shop in Ashland, Oregon
Marjorie Bagley – violinist who studied with Pinchas Zukerman among others and who directs the string program at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
David Balakrishnan – violinist and founding and current member the Turtle Island Quartet.
Purnaprajna Bangere – a native of Mysore, India, Purna is a violinist and composer of the classical violin music of southern India. He also teaches mathematics at the University of Kansas and draws upon his deep understanding of geometry for his musical compositions.
Jason Barie – former fiddler for the bluegrass band Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. Jason currently tours with the bluegrass band Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers.
Ben Barnes – violin restorer in Olympia, Washington.
Tom Barr – violin maker and owner of Barr’s Fiddle Shop in Galax, Virginia.
David Basch – viola player and former member of the Marine Corps “President’s Own” orchestra.
FBI Agent David Bass – member of the FBI’s special art theft team and lead agent in the investigation and recovery of the stolen “Lipinski” Stradivari violin.
David Bass – fiddler and founding member of the stringband Freight Hoppers living Durham, North Carolina.
Riley Baugus – fiddler, banjo player, balladeer, and banjo maker living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He served as co-music director for the film Cold Mountain.
Joshua Bell – violinist, conductor, and music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
John Bermingham – folk musician living in Co. Tipperary, Ireland.
Dr. Paolo Bodini – president of the Friends of Stradivari and president of the board of the Museo del Violino in Cremona, Italy. Former mayor of the city of Cremona,Italy.
Penny Brill – viola player with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra who spearheaded an innovative outreach project to hospitals and other medical organizations that uses music to promote healing and wellness. The symphony also provides musicians to play at memorial services for the families of deceased children.
Barbara Broz – Italian violinist and founding member of the string trio Trio Broz.
Clay Buckner – fiddler with the American folk band and Tony award-winning theater performers Red Clay Ramblers. Clay lives and teaches fiddle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Kristian Bugge – Danish violinis/fiddler who performs with the group Gangspil.
Kevin Burke – Irish fiddler living in Portland, Oregon.
Noel Burke – violin bow maker living in Carlow, Ireland.
Stuart Canin – violinist and conductor and former concert master for the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Opera. Founding member and music director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, he also served as concert master for film music composers John Williams and Randy Newman. At the age of ten he performed on the Fred Allen radio show and as a nineteen-year-old rifleman, he performed for President Truman, Winston Churchill, and Stalin at the Potsdam Conference in 1945.
Greg and Jere Canote – identical twins who play fiddle, banjo, and guitar. Former members of the Small Wonders String Band they have toured the world sharing their infectious love for American folk music.
David Carpenter – solo concert viola player, co-founder of the Salomé Chamber Orchestra, and chief financial officer for Carpenter Fine Violins in New York City.
Lauren Carpenter – violinist and co-founder of the Salomé Chamber Orchestra. A former senior account manager at Google, she now serves as the chief operating officer for Carpenter Fine Violins in New York.
Sean Carpenter – violinist and director and co-founder of the Salomé Chamber Orchestra. A collector of rare violins, he is the CEO of Carpenter Fine Violins in New York.
Kevin Carr – a fiddler and storyteller who also plays numerous types of bagpipes, Kevin has toured with numerous groups over the years including Wake the Dead, Hillbillies from Mars, Les Tetes di Violon, and Verdegaio, a trio celebrating the traditional music of Galicia.
Linda Caspersen – cellist and member of the Harding Kvartett, a unique quartet—violins, viola, and cello—of traditional Norwegian Hardanger instruments.
Michael Certalic – violinist and teacher living in Bozeman, Montana.
Frederic Chaudiere – violin maker living in Montpellier, France.
Piera Ciresa – co-owner of Ciresa Val di Fiemme, a factory located in Tesero in the Italian Alps that produces tone wood for violins and pianos.
Brian Clague – violinist and resident artist for the musical instruments collection at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Michael Cleveland – blind bluegrass fiddler, composer, and founding member of band Flamekeepers.
Zoe Conway – violinist and traditional Irish fiddler living in Dundalk, Ireland.
Jonathan Cooper – violinmaker living in Portland, Maine.
Chris Crepps – bassist with the Rockabilly/Country-Western band Dale Watson.
Bruno Crosignani – chief of the Trento Forest Department in Cavalese, Italy, andmember of the Magnifica Comunita’ di Fiemme.
Dr. William Dawson – retired hand surgeon and founding member of the Performing Arts Medicine Association.
Benjamin DeCorsey – second-year student at the New World School of Violin Making in Presque Isle, Wisconsin.
Tony DeMarco – New York City-born Irish fiddler, composer, and teacher. Brian Derber – violin maker and founder of the New World School of Violinmaking in Presque Isle, Wisconsin.
Brian Derber – violin maker and founder of the New World School of Violinmaking in Presque Isle, Wisconsin.
Kit Eakle – jazz violinist, teacher, and author/publisher of music education materials
David Eby – cellist who has performed as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and now lives in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches at Lewis and Clark College. He performs as a member of the Oregon Symphony and the Portland Cello Project and serves as a teaching artist with the BRAVO Youth Orchestra serving disadvantaged young people.
Matthew Edwards – executive director of the Mt. Airy Museum of Regional History.The museum interprets the rich history of folk fiddling in northern North Carolina and has recently developed a touring exhibit titled The Luthier’s Craft, Instrument Making Traditions of the Blue Ridge.
Rushad Eggleston – cellist, composer, and jazz vocalist known for his invented language and imagined world called The Land of Sneth.
Betse Ellis – old-time Ozark fiddler living in Kansas City, Missouri.
Tony Ellis – fiddler, banjo player, award-winning composer, and former member of the band Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys.
Ted Falcon – violinist, mandolinist, and composer steeped in the Choro, Forró, and Frevo styles of Bralizian music. He is co-director of the Brazilian Strings Tio and professor of music at the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.
Roland Feller – violin maker and restorer serving the San Francisco Bay area since1977.
Amanda Forsyth – Canadian cellist and principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She performs frequently as a soloist with her husband, violinist Pinchas Zukerman, and collaborated with Wynton Marsales recording the sound track for the Ken Burns’ documentary about World War II.
Fretless – string quartet based in Canada featuring classically-trained musicians Trent Freeman, Karrnnel Sawitsky, Ivonne Hernandez, and Eric Wright who arrange and perform music from a variety of folk traditions.
Eugene Friesen – cellist with the Paul Winter Consort and other groups and professor of music at Berklee School of Music.
David Fulton – violinist, filmmaker, and private collector of Cremonese instruments including those of Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri, del Gesù, Giovanni Guadagnini, and Girolamo Amati.
Eric Funk – composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist, and professor of music at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. His composition, Concerto for the Violin Alone, that attempts to create the sound of each instrument in a symphony orchestra was featured in a documentary film produced by PBS.
Christopher Germain – violin maker in Philadephia, Pennsylvania, and member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers.
Rhiannon Giddens – former member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rhiannon plays the fiddle and banjo and lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. She recently performed at the White House and has studied the influence of African -Americans on traditional fiddle music in the United States.
Brandon Godman – fiddler, luthier, and violin dealer living in San Francisco, CA.
Courtney Granger – member of the legendary Cajun-music Balfa family from southwest Louisiana, Courtney plays fiddle in the four-time Grammynominated band Pine Leaf Boys.
Michael Gray – violinist and composer with the Pearl Django, a quintet dedicated to incorporating the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with Americanswing music.
Dr. Patricia Gray – clinical professor and senior research scientist at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro specializing in the field of bio-music, the relationship between human music making and the nature world.
Tyler Griffith – bass player with Michael Cleveland and the Flamekeepers band.
Giorgio Grisales – Columbian-born violin maker living in Cremona, Italy.
Joe Grubaugh and Sigrun Seifert – violin makers who helped recover the stolen “Duke of Alcantara” violin made by Antonio Stradivari.
David Gusset – violin maker living in Eugene, Oregon. Three-time winner of gold medal for violin making at the Violin Society of America competition. First prize/gold medal winner of the “Antonio Stradivari” Triennial Violin Making Competition in Cremona, Italy, the only American to date to win this competition.
Chris Haddox – traditional Appalachian fiddler who has researched the life and instruments of the blind West Virginia violin maker Tommy Dolittle.
Bruce Harvie – owner of Orcas Island Tonewoods.
Jeff Harshbarger – a bassist living in Lawrence, Kansas, he is co-founder of Tzigane Music, an artist-run collective and record label. He also hosts a weekly jazz program on KKFL-FM.
Henry the Fiddler – a modern-day traveling minstrel who has roamed the world for many years playing his violin, including a trip to Russia with Dr. Patch Adams.
Winifred Horan – fiddler and founding member of the Irish-American band Solas.
Christian Howes – violinist, composer, and music educator who performed as a soloist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra when he was sixteen years old. He later switched to playing jazz violin and performed with jazz legend Les Paul for eleven years. He founded and directs the Creative Strings Festival and has toured internationally as a cultural ambassador for the United States State Department.
Lyris Hung – violinist with the folk rock band Indigo Girls and orchestral strings product manager for the D’Addario String Company.
Jay Ifshin – violin maker, collector, and dealer. Owner of Ifshin Violins in El Cerrito, California.
Sarah Ioannides – violinist and music director/conductor of the Tacoma Symphony.
Simon James – Australian-born violinist who currently plays with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera Company. He also directs a company that contracts with musicians in the Pacific Northwest to perform music for film and video games.
Clay Jenkinson – an award-winning Thomas Jefferson scholar and host of the public radio series The Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay has researched Jefferson’s relationship with the violin.
Hans Johannsson – violin maker based in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Carl Jones – fiddler and songwriter living in Galax, Virginia.
Mark Katz – violinist, musicologist, and director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Mark Keenan – violin maker living in Belmont, County Offaly, Ireland.
James Kelly – son of the renowned Irish fiddler John Kelly from County Clare, James has toured as a member of the Celtic bands Planxty and Patrick Street. He was a presenter for Pure Drop, the traditional music series for Irish Television, and has performed with the band The Chieftains and has appeared on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, Prairie Home Companion.
Hans Kennemark – fiddler and member of the Swedish folk music trio Septentrio.
Korinthia Klein – violin maker and owner of Korinthian Violins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Ian Knepper – American-born violin maker and fiddler living in Cork, Ireland.
Alina Kostina – Russian-born violin maker living in Eugene, Oregon.
Joseph Kromholz – teacher violin and viola at the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. He also conducts the university’s chamber symphony as well as serving as guest conductor for several orchestras in the area. He was a founding member of the Linden String Quartet.
Darcie Kuronen – curator of musical instruments at the Boston Museum of Fine Art.
Tom Lai – North American director of sales for Otto Musica Corporation, a division of Messiah Enterprises, manufacturer of instruments and violin accessories based in Taiwan.
Nadine Landry – Quebec Province-born bass player who tours with the Foghorn Stringband and lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
Emily Lane – director of music instruments for Link Auction Galleries in St. Louis, Missiouri and board member for the Open String foundation.
Dr. Andrea Lavelli – maker of handmade violin strings and owner of Dogal Strings based in Venice, Italy.
Kevin Lawrence – violinist and artistic director of the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, he teaches at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.
Laurie Lewis – fiddler, songwriter, and former violin restorer and dealer. Grammy winner and twice-named vocalist of the year by the International Bluegrass Association.
Sammy Lind – fiddler who tours with the Foghorn Stringband and lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
Susan Loris – vice-president of marketing & communications for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Kathryn Lucktenberg – third-generation professional violinist in her family and professor of music at the University of Oregon.
Ashley Luthern – journalist with the Milwaukee Sentinel.
Batya MacAdam-Somer – violinist with the Quartet Nouveau. She earned her BA from the Manhattan School of Music and completed her MA and DMA at the University of California, San Diego. She also plays fiddle with the G Burns Jug Band.
Antoin MacGabhann – fiddler from Ireland and two-time winner of the all-Ireland fiddle competition.
Wendy MacIsaac – fiddler from Cape Breton, Canada.
Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy – husband and wife Celtic fiddlers and step dancers from Canada who also run a successful cattle farm. Cape Breton-born Natalie has won numerous awards for her musicianship including the Order of Canada.
Andrew Finn Magill – fiddler in numerous musical styles including southern Appalachian, Celtic, and Brazilian Choro music. Founding member of the Brazilian String Trio.
Scott Marckx – violin maker, fiddler, and boat builder living in Port Townsend, Washington.
Mikael Marin – violin and viola player and founding member of the Swedish folk music group Väsen.
Doug Marples – physician and violin maker living in Lawrence, Kansas.
Erynn Marshall – British Columbia-born fiddler and ethnomusicologist living in Galax, Virginia. Recipient of the 2006 Appalachian Fellowship from Berea College.
James Mason – bow maker and jazz violinist living in Battleground, Washington.
Molly Mason – bassist, guitarist, and composer who performs with her fiddling husband Jay Ungar. Former member of the Powdermilk Biscuit Band featured on the radio show Prairie Home Companion and co-director of the Ashokan Music Camp.
Bashar Matti – violinist living in the United States who grew up in Iraq during the Iraq-Iranian War and the United States military invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Jimmy Ray McCown – fiddler and founding member of the bluegrass band Outdoor Plumbing Company. Drawing on his skills as an aircraft mechanic, he made his own carbon fiber violin.
Jim McKillop – violin maker and fiddler living in Co. Louth, Ireland.
Mo Menzil – owner of Menzil Fine Violins in Livingston, New Jersey.
Mick Moloney – Irish musician, folklorist, and recipient of the National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Bruce Molsky – an American fiddler, banjo player, guitarist, and singer. Teaches as a member of the faculty of the Berklee School of Music, American Roots Music Program, in Boston Massachusetts.
William Monical – former owner of William Monical and Son, Inc. dealer and restorer of fine violins in Staten Island, New York. Founding member and past president of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers.
John Montgomery – violin maker, restorer, and dealer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. John served as a curator for the American Violin Project sponsored by the Library of Congress.
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Morrison – director of the Mt. Airy downtown business association in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. She is also an artist who has painted several violin-themed public art installations.
Robert Morrow – a bow maker who trained with Charles Espey and lives in Port Townsend, Washington.
Music for Food – an organization based in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, that organizes chamber music concerts and other programs to raise money for local food banks. Interviewees included Kim Kashkashian, founder and artistic director of Music for Food and viola professor at New England Conservatory of Music, Cashman Kerr Prince, cellist and former general manager of Music for Food, Jenny Joo, violinist, Gwen Krosnick, cellist, and Chris Reuning, board member and violin dealer and restorer.
Bernd Müsing – owner of Arcus Bows based in Würzburg, Germany, specializing in the design and manufacture of high-quality carbon fiber violin bows.
Bruno Nasta – violinist and orchestra contractor for the National Gallery of Art. Bruno also helps coordinate the Gallery’s music performance series.
Mark O’Connor – violinist/fiddler, composer, and teacher. Creator of the O’Connor Method, a New American School of String Playing.
Elmar Oliveira – concert violinist and teacher. The only Westerner to win the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky Violin Competition in Moscow.
The Onlies – a trio of gifted young musicians—Leo Shannon, Riley Calcagno, and Sami Braman—who play traditional fiddle-driven music, with Celtic, old-time American, and Canadian roots.
Leonor Palazzo – Belgian-born cellist and member of the Swedish trio Septentrio.
Marco Piccinotti – violin maker living in San Polo D’Enza, Italy.
Rachel Barton Pine – violinist and first American gold medal winner of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition. She founded the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, which provides services and funding to help promote classical music education and performances.
Capt. Jeff Point – head of the homicide division of the Milwaukee Police Department who oversaw the investigation the theft of the “Lipinski” Stradivari violin.
Steven Pologe – cellist and head of strings program at the University of Oregon. Steven has also served as a judge at the violin making competition sponsored by the Violin Society of America.
Frederic Raimi – cellist, professor of music at Duke University, and former member of Ciompi Quartet.
Bruno Price and Ziv Arazi – co-owners of Rare Violins of New York. Mr. Price is also a board member of the Violin Society of America.
Robert Ray – bow maker, violin restorer, and former owner of R.L. Ray Violin Shop in Olympia, Washington.
Jay Read – violinist and hip-hop artist living in Newark, New Jersey.
Chris Reuning – violin restorer and dealer in Boston, Massachusetts.
Svend Rønning –violinist and member of the Harding Kvartett, a unique quartet—violins, viola, and cello—of traditional Norwegian Hardanger instruments. Svend also serves as concert master of the Tacoma Symphony and teaches violin at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.
Yael Rosenbaum – Israeli-born violin maker living in Cremona, Italy.
Daniel Rouslin – violinist and professor of music at Willamette University.
Wilson Savoy – member of the legendary Cajun-music Savoy family from southwest Louisiana, Wilson plays accordion and fiddle in the four-time Grammy-nominated band Pine Leaf Boys.
Paul Schuback – violin maker and dealer with a shop in Newburg, Oregon.
Terrence Setter – audio engineer and microphone designer.
Carla Shapreau – violin maker and law professor at the University of California-Berkley specializing in the recovery of stolen art objects.
Erin Shrader – bow maker and former lutherie editor for Strings Magazine based in San Francisco.
David Simard – French-Canadian fiddler living in Quebec Province, Canada.
Rickie Simpkins – a bluegrass and country fiddler who had appeared on numerous recordings including those by Ralph Stanley, Tony Rice, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mike Auldridge, and Robin and Linda Williams. Since 2007, he has toured extensively with Emmylou Harris and joined the band Seldom Scene in early 2016.
Dmitry Sitkovetsky – Soviet-Russian born classical violinist, conductor, arranger, and music festival director. He is founding director of the New European Strings Chamber Orchestra and also serves as the music director of the Greensboro Symphony.
Jason Slote – recording engineer and production manager at Kansas Public Radio in Lawrence, Kansas.
Annie Staninec – fiddler living in Portland, Oregon, who has toured and recorded with David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis, Rod Stewart, and others.
Jody Stecher – fiddler, singer, and educator living in San Francisco.
Rafe Stephanini – Italian-born Appalachian-style fiddler and violin dealer. His brother is a violin maker in Bologna, Italy.
David Stone – violin restorer, dealer, and owner of David T. Stone Violins in Seattle, Washington.
Sarah Stone – third-year student at Julliard who performs on the baroque cello.
Trevor Stuart – Appalachian-style fiddler and violin maker from North Carolina.
Pete Sutherland – Vermont-born fiddler, songwriter, and teacher.
Alicia Svigals – violinist and composer and founding member of the Grammywinning Klezmatics. She collaborated on musical projects with violinist Itzhak Perlman, the Kronos Quartet, playwrights Tony Kushner and Eve Ensler, the late poet Allen Ginsburg, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, among others. She is the recipient of the Foundation for Jewish Culture’s 2013 New Jewish Culture Network commission for her new score to the 1918 Pola Negri silent movie TheYellow Ticket.
Fan Tao – director of research and development for the D’Addario String Company. Board member of the Violin Society of America.
Anthea Tergis – American-born violinist and winner of the Junior National Scottish Fiddling Championship three years in a row. She has toured with the Sharon Shannon Band, Green Fields of America, and sax player Clarence Clemmons of The E Street Band. Her tour with The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra of China included the live, nationally broadcast debut of her original compositions ‘Old Quarry’ and ‘Slide’, co-written by John Doyle and arranged by Derek Gleeson, at the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts Opera Theater.
Kelly Thribodeaux – Louisiana-born fiddler and teacher living in Oregon.
Joseph Thrift – a violin maker trained at the Newark School of Violin Making in Nottingham, England, he teaches violin making at a community college in Mt. Airy, North Carolina.
Carlos Tome – partner in Tarisio Fine Instruments and Bows, an on-line auction house for high-end stringed instruments with offices in New York and London.
Nick Tzavaras – cellist with the Shanghai String Quartet and member of the music faculty at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. His mother, Roberta Guaspari, directed an innovative string program for inner-city children that was later featured in the film Music of the Heart starring the actress Meryl Streep.
Jay Ungar – fiddler, composer, and director of the Ashokan Music Camp.
Paolo, Dario, and Sofia Vettori – second and third-generation violin makers in Florence, Italy.
Jimmy Vipperman – fiddler, teacher, and owner of Vip’s Violins and Music Company in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Er Yiax Wang – violin maker based in China.
Clark Wyatt – traditional folk musician and composer living in Kansas City, Missouri.
Robert Brewer Young – violin maker and founder and director of the Open String, a non-profit organization that provides quality bowed string instruments to students and communities in need.
Roger Zahab – violinist, composer, and music director of the University of PittsburghSymphony Orchestra.
Giuliano Zugliani – chief of the Paneveggio Forest in the Italian Alps, the same forest where Amati and Stradivari acquired their spruce for their instruments.