JAVS Spring 2006

dissemination of info rmation on instruments and the "secrets" of violinmaking, gives Alf his outlets: the VSA Journal , the International Violinmaking co rn petit ions, and the Oberlin College summer workshops fo r makers. As a maker who is Hors Concours in the competitions and an instruc tor in the Oberlin wo rkshops, G regg Alf has become a moving force in t he "open era" of violin making. Perhaps Al f's most recent proj ect is a natura l outgrowth of this sharing philosophy. Like m ost make rs, Alf realized that rhe work h e did at the Alf Studios in Ann Arbor, Michigan, rem ained focused o n a "re-enact

and found a job in the shop of Stefano Conia. Wh il e at the C remona School ofViolin Making, his teachers included Ezio Scarpini , Alceste Bulfari and G io rgio Scolari. After an eight-year stint in Cremo na, Alf returned to the United Sta tes and established a partnership with his friend and col MacArthur Foundation g ranr). Together, they became world renowned for their meticulous bench copies of some of the world's greatest instrumen tal rn as rerpi eces. Alf league Joseph Curtin (recent recipient of a

and C urrin also

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worked on projects separately, creating instru ments on commission and exploring acoust ical and varnish experiments. By sharing rhe resulrs of these experiments and interac tion with music ians, they elevated the qua li ty and playability of each new instrument. While experirnenring and stretching the violin world's concept of "The Possible," Alf has unselfishly shared his knowledge and find ings. In a world where i nstru rnenr making tech niques had been jealously guarded, Alf shares infor mation freely. The Violin Society ofAmerica, a most important source for the

Keller was nor at all encouraging and suggested he didn't have the talent to make it as a lu rhier. This was nor at all the answer Alf had anticipated. Undaunted, he walked a few blocks down the street to the shop of Adolph Primavera. H ere, the reception was quire different . Primavera convinced Alf that the vio lin making school in C rernona was rhe pl ace to go. Armed with his summer experi en ce, and knowledge he had acquired taking acoustics courses at a university in Washington D.C., he h eaded for Italy with $300 in his pocket and rhe con viction rhar he could make it as a luthie r. Three hundred dollars doesn't go very far, especially when buying wood. Alf sought

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J OURNAL OF THE AMER ICAN VlOLA SOCIETY _______ 30