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Rowan Armour-Brown Memorial Trust Fund

Supporting Student Violin Makers

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Hanna Hofstetter

Newark School of Violin Making

Education Services Award 2022:  Funding for set up tools, strings and viola wood

RAB Award 2022:  As Hanna has a particular interest in restoration and also in bows, she was exceptionally awarded two work experience placements. The first took place at Philip Brown Violins in Newbury:

I have played the violin violin since I was a child. And I always thought the violin was fascinating, but never gave much thought to that stick that was so difficult to hold. Through the course in Newark and my last work placement I figured that stick is a lot more complex than I had guessed. It is a bow! I am highly fascinated by how different materials, the player, the instrument, the kind of music, the physics and a lot more seem to merge. Thanks to the RAB Trust I had the chance of learning from a professional. Working next to a professional and in a shop gave me the possibility to deepen my understanding of the craft and at the same time get a feeling of what it means to work on bows in a shop. I am grateful for the week I spent with Philip. Asking all the stupid questions that came to mind and focussing on bows within the ´real world´ of a shop gave me insight on more than one level.

Hanna’s second placement was in September:

I spent a week at the J.P. Guivier workshop. There I could dive into the world of a busy workshop in the middle of London. Being in my final year it was good to see how working in such a place would be, what is expected and what I am capable of doing already now. I learned how to assess my way of working and make it more efficient, more methodical. It was a great way to see where I am aspiring my work to get to. Thanks to J.P. Guivier and the RAB Trust I can start my final year knowing there is a lot to learn and there is a lot that routine work will do for the quality of my work.

 

RAB Award 2021:  Work placement with bow maker and repairer Stephen Thompson. Hanna sent us feedback on her placement:

I went into this work experience not knowing anything about bows, but being generally interested in them.  In three days I saw how an independent bow maker works and gained a basic understanding and feeling for bows.  I learned how to rehair a bow properly with some little tricks to adjust the tension of the hair nicely.  I rehaired a cello bow and a violin bow and learned how to make a new thumb grip and do a lapping. 

As well as learning these basic skills I had advice on how to treat customers, how to find jobs and how to run a business.   

Stephen is a kind and patient mentor who explained things as often as needed.  I am grateful to the RAB Trust for this experience, as I would not have found Stephen and contacted him for a placement without their help.  I now have a mentor who is willing to help with bow questions in the future and I am thankful to Stephen for all his time.

 

Rowan Armour-Brown Memorial Trust Fund. Registered Charity No: 1102888

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