Dwight Moore Violins: July 2011

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Jonathan Woolston's Violin Making Course - July 18 - 22, 2011

Most of us will only see The Cannone 1743 del Gesu violin (once owned by Pagannini) on display in a glass case at the Palazzo Tursi in Genova, Italy.

The instructor of this summer's one-week hands-on Violin Making Course in the Fraser Valley, Jonathan Woolston of Cambridge, UK is shown here holding this amazing Guarneri del Gesu violin along with the precise copy he made of it. The summer course will run July 18 - 22 near Chilliwack.

Violin Making Course - July 18 - 22, 2011‏

We are pleased to bring to your attention a violin making course in the Fraser Valley for all levels of students, from beginners to advanced luthiers. This hands-on course will be under the tutelage of Jonathan Woolston, a world-renowned violin maker and repairman based in Cambridge, UK. Jonathan restores and maintains the stringed instrument collection of The Royal Academy of Music of over 300 instruments, including 25 Golden Era violins, violas and cellos by such makers as Antonio Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri, and Rugeri.

Jonathan Woolston will teach a one-week course, July 18-22, in the Chilliwack area. Tools and wood will be available. Course fee $600.00. There will be full days in the shop 9 AM - 6 PM, and evening theory discussions and socializing. Enrollment is limited to 6 or 7 students to give you plenty of individualized instruction time so please check your calendar and advise us quickly if you wish to attend.

Jonathan Woolston

Instructors' Background

Jonathan Woolston divides his time between his Cambridge Studio where he makes new violins and the Royal Academy of Music in London where he helps to maintain and restore their fabulous collection of bowed string instruments. Most of his new instruments are based on Stradivarius models, including 2 award winning cellos for the Manchester Cello Festival.

His career as a luthier originally started as a guitar maker for Fylde Guitars in Lancashire. This led to a Violin Making Degree from the Newark School in 1985. His work experience as a restorer has been accumulated in various ateliers most notably the Manhattan workshop of Jacques Francais where he worked under the scrupulous eye of Rene Morel with a team of world class craftsmen. In 2004 and 2006 Jonathan helped set up the unique 2 week summer workshops at the Banff Centre in the Canadian Rockies, including teaching advanced methods of repair.