JOHN ANIANO made his earliest bows under the guidance of William Salchow and has worked with bow maker Yung Chin since early 2002. John’s modern bows are made using a personal model inspired by Pajeot, Maire and Adam. Prizes: certificates of merit (va & vc) VSA 2004; gold (vc) VSA 2006; gold (va) VSA 2010; Certificate of Merit (va) VSA 2014.

VICTOR BERNARD studied at the Newark School of Violin Making and graduated in 2008. He then worked alongside Pierre Guillaume in Brussels for five years. In 2013, he established his own workshop at Compiegne, near Paris.  During this year, he also worked alongside Georges Tepho and Eric Fournier in Quimper and Emmanuel Carlier in Paris.  In October 2014, he joined the Atelier Flagey in Brussels to work with Robert Pierce, Blaise Emmelin and Daoudi Hassoun. Prizes: Finalist Paris 2012; Gold (va) Bronze (vc) Mittenwald 2014; Certificate of Merit (vn) VSA 2014; Silver (vn, vc) Mittenwald 2018.

EMMANUEL BÉGIN began his training at the age of 14 with his father, bow maker Louis Bégin. After a few years working in Montréal, Emmanuel went to France to work for Yannick Le Canu in Lille. He now works at the Atelier de Lutherie in Montréal. Prizes: certificates of merit (vn & vc) VSA 2010 Gold medal (vc) and certificates of merit (vn & va) VSA 2012; Two gold medals VSA 2014 (vn & db) and two certificates of merit (va &vc).

NOEL BURKE  began training as a bow maker in 1989 under the tutelage of Charles Espey and Stephane Thomachot in Paris where he lived and worked for five years. His work has been awarded eight gold medals at international competitions including the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris for violin bow and six gold medals at two competitions of the Violin Society of America for violin, viola and cello bows. He now lives and works in Carlow, Ireland where he concentrates on new making and the teaching of bow making.

EMMANUEL CARLIER studied with Gilles Duhaut in France and then joined the Bernard House in Brussels with Pierre Guillaume. In 2010 he moved to Paris and received a grant the following year from the Marcel Vatelot Foundation to develop his workshop.  From September 2013 to September 2014 he was resident at the ‘Villa Medici’, the French Academy in Rome.  Prizes: gold (va) and silver (vc) Mittenwald 2010; Certificate of merit (db) VSA 2010; Three gold medals (vn, vc, db) and certificate of merit (va) VSA 2012;

MARK DREHMANN trained at the Salchow shop in New York City and has worked there since January 2008.  When not carrying out repairs, he makes bows in the old French style, modelling makers such as François Tourte and Dominique Peccatte.

BERND ETZLER studied and worked at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in the Hungarian capital from 1986 to 1992. In 1993 he established his own workshop in Göd near Budapest. From 1997-99 he worked with Pierre Guillaume in Brussels and returned to his workshop in Göd in 2000. Prizes: certificate of merit Manchester 2007, silver medal (va) Mittenwald 2010, Gold (vn) and Silver (va vc) Mittenwald 2014; Two Certificates of merit (va, vc) VSA 2014; Silver medal (vn) and Gold medals (va, vc) Mittenwald 2018.

PIERRE-YVES FUCHS trained as a luthier in Brienz and as a repairer with Weinstein in Tel Aviv, before studying bow making with Gilles Duhaut, Pierre Guillaume and Benoit Rolland. Prizes: gold medal (db) and three certificates of merit (vn, va, vc) VSA 2000; gold medal (va) and three certificates of merit (vn, vc, db) VSA 2002; bronze award (vn) BVMA; four gold medals (vn, va, vc, db) VSA 2004; silver medal (vc) and gold medal (db) Paris 2004. Member of the jury VSA 2006

JOSEF GABRIEL has run his own workshop in Erlangen, Germany, since 1987. Prizes: silver medal (vc) Manchester 1992, a gold medal and tone award Mittenwald 1993, gold medal (vc) VSA 1996 and silver and bronze medals (vn & vc) Mittenwald 1997. Co-author with Klaus Grünke and Yung Chin of the publication: The bows of Nikolai Kittel: a comprehensive study of the bows of Nikolai Kittel, instrument maker to the Russian Court (published in 2011).

ERIC GAGNE worked for several years at Blaise Emmelin, first as an apprentice and then as an assistant.  He then worked at Maison Bernard for Pierre Guillaume in Brussels, where he also trained in the art of bow restoration.  He now has a workshop in Montreal where he makes his bows; he also works with the Wilder and Davis workshop where he restores and sells bows throughout Canada.  Prizes: Finalist Paris 2012.

THOMAS GOERING first trained as a violin maker and then discovered the great passion of his career when he studied bow making with William Salchow and then with David Samuels in 1995.  In 2005 he established his own workshop in Topeka, Kansas, where he concentrates on bow making, repair and restoration.  Prizes: Certificate of Merit (vc) VSA 1998; Certificates of merit (va) (vn) VSA 2012.

KLAUS GRÜNKE studied with his father, Richard for three years and with Hans Weisshar in Los Angeles for two years. He won two gold medals (va & vc) VSA 1980 and a silver medal Kassel 1983 and has judged many international competitions. Publications: The bows of Nikolai Kittel: a comprehensive study of the bows of Nikolai Kittel, instrument maker to the Russian Court. Publication date: October, 2011.

RICHARD GRÜNKE studied with Edwin Herrmann and at the Pfretzschner workshop. He joined the Paesold workshop in 1957 and in 1975 set up his own business in Bubenreuth. He has been invited to judge numerous international competitions. In 1996 he formed a company with his sons, Klaus and Thomas.

THOMAS GRÜNKE studied bow making with his father and continues to work alongside his father and brother, Klaus in Langensendelbach, Germany. He is also an experienced restorer of valuable antique bows and his new work is profoundly influenced by the work of Peccatte, Voirin and Sartory.

DAOUDI HASSOUN was born in Charente (France) and graduated from the Newark School of violin making in 2008. He since trained as a bow maker with Blaise Emmelin and Robert Pierce in Brussels where he now works with Atelier Flagey in collaboration with violin makers Catherine Janssens and Joanne Vanbostrehaut and bow maker Blaise Emmelin.

GARY LEAHY trained and worked in violin and bow restoration for several years in New Zealand where he became increasingly interested in bows. He then trained for three years with Noel Burke in his native Ireland before setting up his own workshop. He also worked for a year at L’Atelier d’Arthur in Paris. Prizes: three gold medals (vn, va and vc) VSA 2010, gold (va) Paris 2011; two gold medals (vn, va) and one certificate of merit (vc) VSA 2012.

DIRK LOESCHER trained in instrument and bow making in Markneukirchen, Germany, becoming a Master of Bowmaking in 1994. He worked with Pierre Guillaume in Brussels for 4 years and in 2000 he established his own workshop in Barcelona.

TINO LUCKE studied bow making in Markneukirchen and then worked for Hieronymus Köstler in Stuttgart. He now runs a workshop in Berlin. Prizes: bronze (vc) and silver (vn) Paris 1999; gold (vn) BVMA 2004.

ROBERT PIERCE was apprenticed to William Hofmann and also trained with John Clutterbuck and William Salchow. He worked with Pierre Guillaume for 10 years and established an independent workshop in Brussels in 1998. He is an elected member of Groupe des Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art de France. Prizes: best playing bow (vc) Manchester on two consecutive occasions.

PAUL SADKA trained as a professional cellist and studied bow making with Noel Burke in Ireland and in Cremona, Italy. He now lives and works in Paris and specialises in cello bows. Prizes include a merit award (vc) Manchester 2001; three gold medals (vn, va & vc) VSA 2010

EMELIE SABATHIER studied at Newark School of Violin Making from 2005-2009 and then moved to Brussels to study bow making with Pierre Guillaume until 2013.  She is now in the process of settling in France.

STEVE SALCHOW has been making bows since 1995 and was taught by his father, the late William Salchow and his nephew, Isaac Salchow. He is currently making close copies of bows by Peccatte, Pajeot, Persoit and Dodd.

The late WILLIAM SALCHOW first studied bow making and repair under Simone Sacconi in New York and then at Mirecourt with Georges Barjonnet. He opened his own New York studio in 1960 where he made bows and inspired bow makers until he passed away in 2014.

DAVID SAMUELS studied bowmaking with Stéphane Thomachot and worked for Etienne Vatelot, Amnon Weinstein, Rene Morel and Jacques Français. Prizes: gold (vc) VSA 1992; three gold medals (vn, va & vc) VSA 1994; gold Manchester 1994; three gold medals (vn, va & vc) VSA 1996. David has since has served on the juries of the VSA and City of Paris competitions.

DAVID TEMPEST taught violin and viola and was a freelance viola player for over 25 years. He enjoys working closely with players, especially in the late stages of playing and adjustment. Influences on his work are wide-ranging, but mainly from the established French bow making school.

CHRISTIAN WANKA studied bow making for 3 years with his father and worked in Toronto before returning to work in the family workshop in Baiersdorf, Germany.

ROGER ZABINSKI studied with Martin Beilke and William Salchow. He was awarded a gold medal for a violin bow VSA 1986 and has received numerous certificates of workmanship from the VSA. He lives and works in Minneapolis, USA and has been a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers since 1985. In 2010 he was elected a member of the Entente Internationale des Maîtres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art.

Competitions and prizes mentioned in biographies:

BVMA London: BVMA violin and bow making competition at the Genius of the Violin Festival, London 2004.

Manchester: The Strad International Cello and Bow Making Competition held at the Manchester Cello Festival, RNCM.

Mittenwald: International Violin and Bow Making Competition.

Paris: International Violin and Bow Making Competition.

VSA: The Violin Society of America Violin and Bow Making Competition.
‘
We are living in the time of the best bow making in history. I would encourage anyone interested in purchasing a bow to consider the bows of our great contemporary makers.’

Paul Childs, New York bow expert