JAVS Spring 2010

cumbed to the siren mystique of violin making.

While the school does not ship instruments for trial purposes, staff can advise on availability and inform about shops that may have school-made instruments for sale. Musicians are welcome to visit the school in Skokie, Illinois, about fifteen miles from downtown Chicago. For further information and inspiration, see http://www.csvm.org. Eric Chapman is a founder of the Violin Society of America and a long-time contributor to the Journal of the American Viola Society . The owner of Eric Chapman Violins, Inc. in Chicago, he has been commended for distin guished service by both the AVS and the VSA.

Instruments in the varnish and drying room

2001 from the Oberlin Conservatory. He has spearhead ed a bass-making project at the school and is working on a Goffriller model viola. To support his violin making while he is a student, he plays Principal Bass with the Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra and free lances in Chicago. Elizabeth La Porte studied violin at Macalester College in St. Paul. She was hooked on a career in making after spending a summer working with well-known maker and restorer John Waddle. Raija Eggert Tuuri studied viola and violin at the University of Delaware and Temple University. She has worked part time for David Bromberg, a leading authority on American-made instruments (and famous rock guitarist) who himself is a gradu ate of the school. Other graduates have included individuals from diverse professions—doctors, lawyers, sculptors, full-time mothers—all who have suc

hands. With a string length of 14 1/2 inches and narrow upper shoulders, the model is a fit for younger players. Another model is a 16 inch Tschu Ho Lee model, designed with the big sound and shorter string length of the Guadagnini model, but with slightly larger proportions. A third option, a Goffriller model copied after the work of the great Venetian master Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) has a body length of 16 3/8 inches and is a bit wider than the others in the upper bout. The string length is the same 14 1/2 inches as the Lee model, mak ing it eminently playable. These are those magical instruments— the violas made at the Chicago School of Violin Making sell between $3,000 and $4,000. These violin-making stars of tomorrow have come from quite varied backgrounds. Third-year student Aaron Brown is a profes sional bass player who received his Bachelor of Music degree in

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