Newark School of Violin Making
Education Services Award 2022: Funding for set up tools, strings and viola wood
RAB Award 2022: Hanna was awarded a work placement 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.
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”.