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Caprice for the Redwood Violin preformed at TEDx Sonoma
I was invited to give a presentation about the Redwood Violin Project to TEDx Sonoma. In the spirit of the project I invited a local composer and a local musician to collaborate in the presentation. Felix Herbst’s “Caprice for the Redwood Violin” was performed by 12 year old violinist Henry Miller Hear it here:
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The Redwood Violin Donated to YPCO
The Redwood Violin has been donated to the Santa Rosa Young People’s Chamber Orchestra The official handover occurred at a YPCO concert at the Phoenix Theatre, Petaluma where Clair Wu Claire played the solo in Amy Beach’s “A Hermit Thrush at Eve” The Redwood Violin will be loaned out on an annual basis to a…
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Interview with Composer Gwendolyn Przyjazna
Gwendolyn Przyjazna [pshi-YAH-znah] is the 17 year old composer of “Concertina for violin and strings”, which was performed by the Young Peoples Chamber Orchestra in May of this year. The performance was the first public performance of any of Gwendolyn’s work and, in addition, was the public debut performance of the Redwood Violin. Gwendolyn also…
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First public appearance. Dancing the sun up on May Morning
At Dawn on May Morning we took the Redwood Violin to Sebastopol to see the Apple Tree Morris Dance the sun up. Morris dance is an English folk dance tradition, usually danced with a team of six. The costumes, dances and dates for dancing varies between local teams. The Morris tradition has spread across the…
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Jon Berger Plays an Original Country Dance
Sebastopol fiddler Jon Berger composed this tune the style of an English Country Dance. He is joined here by Rebecca King on piano; Jon and Rebecca are two thirds of the band Persons of Quality. Jon’s wife Kalia Kliban, who made the pegs on the Redwood Violin, is a prominent English Country Dance caller. She…
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We Made the Cover of Strings Magazine!
Strings Magazine is an internationally distributed violin trade journal, covering anything to do with the violin family of instruments. This is so gratifying! Thanks to every one who has been involved, this has been far from a solo effort. You can get a digital version of the Strings story.
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Kalia Kliban turns pegs for the Redwood Violin
I talked with woodturner Kalia Kliban back in December about making some pegs for the violin. She had cleared some time in her schedule, done some research, made some jigs and tools and was now ready to turn the pegs. We visited her shop in late February to watch the turning process, and to interview…
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Project update 6 – A salamander, a label, twisted tailgut and local press coverage
I’m having trouble knowing exactly what to report on. The videos covering the details of the various processes involved in making the violin are lagging so far behind what is currently going on in the workshop that I worry that there are many points in each video that need context and further explaining. I cant…
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The bass bar, scroll carving and tailgut making
Violinmaking The bass bar is a little supporting strut running the length of the violin, under the bass foot of the bridge. The bass bar’s mass, its shape, position and the way that it is fitted, all have tonal implications for the finished violin. To finish the ribs, I removed the mold that they were…
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Refining the Plates. Finishing the glue. Marquetry?
This week I continued work on the plates, the back and top of the violin. The Redwood top The redwood is very light. I measured the specific gravity (density compared to that of water) at 0.27 which, compared to the 0.37 – 0.40 of the spruce that I normally work, with is very light. From…
