JAVS Summer 1998

25

Dal ton: Are rhe "graduation" mstrumen rs necessarily violins?

Prier: No. The very first instrument made here was a viola d'amore! The students could make rwo violas or rwo cellos. We even had a srudent once who did rwo basses. One instru ment will stay white and one will be total ly varnished and set up. The student also makes an artistic drawing that can involve a lot of imagination and flair. Some students become good arcisrs, very clever in their interpretations. Two weeks before graduation, we give rhem rhe subject for a thesis on violin making. The subject can be anything related to the work. If they chose to write in their na cive tongue, they also have to translate ir into English. They write the thesis and turn ir in on graduation day, along with rhe notebook they have been keeping for over three years. I think all this stimulates them toward estab lishing themselves as arrisrs. I would like to stress that violin-making is an an. Ir is nor just crafting a piece of furniture, because there is one more important dimension we haven't talked much about, and rhar is tone. Dalton: How many employees do you have on your staff assisting you in sales and in the repair shop, and also insrruccing in the school? Prier: There are thirteen employees, all of whom have their perimeter in which rhey work. I feel that it is very important ro have the best possible help I can ger, the most hon est wo rkman, rhe mosr artistic person, the mos t diligent employee in rhar parti cular area. Dalton: May we speak about some new enter prises on your parr? For instance, the Spiccato Bow. How did you become interested in this bow, and how did ir come to be developed in your company? Prier: The Spiccaro Bow, in my optnton, is one of the most innovative ideas of its kind rhar I have seen in my lifet ime. It was con ceived and developed by Benoit Rolland in New Horizons

On Thursdays we have another rwo-hour class on the setup of instruments and on the techniques of varnishing for the thi rd- and fourth -year srudents. Fridays are the identifi cation classes that I have already mentioned. We also hold an orchestra rehearsal under Kory Katseanes, a violinist and the assistant conducror of the Utah Symphony. He in srructs on how an orchestra works and why musicians are so intensely interested in how instruments sound in the different string secnons. Prier: Yes, everybody. Katseanes gives each student a half- hour lesson a week, and every one is expected to practice and play in the school orchestra and to perform in the rwo yearly reci tals held in the fall and spring. The final exam is quite demanding. At the end of three and a half years, the student starts his or her graduation project rhe first of February, first making a mechanical draw ing from which the srudent will build rwo 1 nsrrumenrs. Dal ton: Are all students required to play a string instrument with a certain proficiency?