Workshops in Violin Building; Violin Maintenance and Repair; Bow-making; Bow Repair; and Bow Rehairing, and Machine Tool Techniques with world renowned expert faculty members.

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Institute Faculty

    Karl Roy
    Lynn Hannings
    Horst L. Kloss
    George Rubino
    Jim Robinson

(Note: This is Karl Roy's last year of teaching.)

Karl Roy, master craftsman and a prominent international authority on stringed instruments, has been teaching at the Violin Craftsmanship Institute since 1973, and, for 20 years, was Director of the Bavarian State School of Violin Making, Mittenwald, Germany. He is the author of the newly published book, The Violin: Its History and Making (2006) and also published a book on Jacobus Stainer and his contributions to the development of violin making (1987 by Verlag Das Musikinstrument). He is an active member of the International Society of Violin and Bow Makers, an honorary director of the Violin Society of America, and serves each year as a judge at numerous major international violin making competitions throughout the world.

Horst L. Kloss, Mittenwald-trained Master Violin Maker, has worked with fine stringed instruments and bows for over four decades. The Kloss Shop specializes in the repair, restoration, appraisal, and sale of historic instruments and bows. Mr. Kloss offers acoustic adjustment tailored to the individual musician’s requirements and the application of museum conservation standards. He provides musicians with custom instrument set-up designed to prevent overuse syndrome while maintaining maximal adjustment of tonal color, clarity, and projection. He has cared for collections of note, including the Boston Museum of Fine Art’s historic stringed instruments; and he is one of fewer than 100 makers whose training and skills qualified him for full membership status in the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers. More recently, Mr. Kloss was among a handful of Federation members selected for an intensive training session devoted to museum varnish restoration and conservation techniques. At the Bavarian State School of Violin Making in Southern Germany, he earned his Journeyman’s diploma in 1964 and his Master’s degree in 1972 under the tutelage of Joseph Kantuscher. He moved to the United States in 1964 and worked for Carl Becker at Lewis & Sons.

Lynn Armour Hannings, has been teaching at the Violin Craftsmanship Institute since 1986. She is
a former teaching assistant of William Salchow. She received her degree of Journeyman from the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers in 1984 and was elected to membership in 1985. In 1989 Ms. Hannings was granted both a Fulbright Scholarship and the Annette Kadé Fellowship for the Advanced Study of the French School of Bowmaking in Paris, France, with Bernard Millant, the world reknowned authority of French Bow Making. She is also a member of the Entente Internationale des Maitres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art. As a conservatory trained musician and performer who has studied musicians’ injuries, Ms. Hannings has worked individually with musicians, for over 30 years, to meet their unique playing requirements. Ms. Hannings sells bows to professionals in the U.S. and internationally. In addition to bowmaking, she has extensive experience in the area of bow repair and restoration. Ms. Hanning is presently the president of IPCI-USA, an international organization working for the conservation and preservation of Pernamuco, the primary wood used in bowmaking.

George Rubino started making bows in 1974 and has been in the forefront of American bowmaking for many years. His interest in the French tradition and quest for knowledge has helped him to make bows that are aesthetically fine and enable the musician to produce everything the music asks. Mr. Rubino studied bowmaking with William Salchow and had been his teaching assistant at the UNH Violin Craftsmanship Institute for many years, and appointed as a bowmaking instructor for the Institute in 1988. He has given lectures and conducted workshops on bowmaking and bow playability in North America, Europe, and Australia. Additional information about him and examples of his work can be found at www.rubinobows.com.

Jim Robinson

Jim Robinson, Jim Robinson will return for a 6th year as Karl Roy's shop foreman. He has been a woodworker by trade for over 25 years, specializing in cabinetry and custom millwork. He started his violinmaking studies in 1995 and began formal training with Karl Roy at UNH's Violin Institute in 1999. He is a three-time award-winning violinmaker at the Violin Maker's Assn. of Arizona, International Competition, twice winning first place for tone and overall workmanship—for cello in 2005 and viola in 2006. He now owns a string shop in southern New Hampshire, where he makes and repairs bowed instruments. To learn more about him and see samples of his work go to www.renstrings.com.

The Violin Craftsmanship Institute is sponsored by

© Copyright 2008 by UNH Professional Development and Training.
Comments or suggestions: lac@cisunix.unh.edu