Violin makers in Chicago

Service

trade, new building, repair, restoration

Particularities

Carl Becker & Son was initially founded by Herman Macklett, a German immigrant, whose violin making legacy was the basis for the atelier of his grandson Carl G. Becker. Today the workshop is in the hands of Carl's grandson Paul Becker, who studied violin making with his father Carl F. Becker. Carl Becker & Son sells violins made by Paul and other makers and offers luthier services in maintenance and repairs of instruments and bows.

The team at the Carl Becker & Son atelier

• Paul Becker– owner & director of operations; lead luthier
• Jeremy Koons – repair shop manager
• Thomas Moyer – luthier

Service

trade, repair, restoration, leasing

Particularities

Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins is the cooperation of the violinist and teacher Stefan Hersh, violin dealer and expert Julian Hersh and luthier Michael Darnton.

The atelier offers instruments, luthier services and certificates. Rental services are available with Midwest String Rentals.

Service

trade, new building, repair, restoration, leasing, accessories

Particularities

William Harris Lee & Co. Fine String Instruments offers contemporary and antique stringed instruments for educational, advanced and professional purposes.

The company has another violin workshop in Atlanta, Georgia and a branch in Wilmette, Illinois.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration, accessories

Particularities

Mark R. Sonksen is an active musician and specializes in luthier services of the double-bass and offers a selection of instruments of various price ranges, that have been properly repaired and restored by him.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, new building, repair, restoration, accessories

Particularities

Founded by Hungarian refugee Laszlo Pinter in 1966, Pinter's Violin Shop today is continued by the founder's son Laszlo Jr., who is offering luthier services and stringed instruments, both antique makers and from his own atelier.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

repair, restoration, leasing

Particularities

Mathew Lucante studied lutherie at the The Chicago School of Violin Making and started working at Michael Becker Fine Violins in Park Ridge, Illinois even before graduating in 1998. In 2004 he joined the workshop of Thomas Metzler Violins in Glendale, California and returned to Michael Becker in 2006 to stay for 9 years. Today he is working in his Skokie atelier. Mathew Lucante is a member of the Violin Society of America.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration, leasing, accessories

Particularities

Kenneth Stein apprenticed with George Kelishek and studied violin making at The Chicago School of Violin Making. Subsequently he worked for Kenneth Warren and William Lee, before he established his own workshop in 1978. As a luthier he specializes on repair and restoration but occasionally builds new instruments, too.

Qualification

violin maker

Service

trade, repair, leasing

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, new building, repair, restoration, accessories

Particularities

John K. Becker studied harp making at Lyon & Healy under master luthier Henning Christiansen and later joined Bein & Fushi to become an internationally renowned violin restorer. In 2017 he retired from Bein & Fushi and offers fine old and contemporary instruments and restoration services in his own Chicago atelier that opened in 1994.

The staff at the John K. Becker & Company workshop

• John K. Becker
• Keisuke Hori
• Takeshi Nogawa
• John J. Becker
• Garrett Becker

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, new building, repair, restoration, leasing, accessories

Particularities

Peter Yang is a master luthier who worked for several famous ateliers such as Jacques Francais & Rene Morel, New York, Peter Benedek, Munich, and Bein & Fushi, Chicago. In his workshop he offers a selection of fine stringed instruments, luthier services and accessories.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

new building, repair, restoration

Particularities

John Norwood Lee is a bow maker who started his career with a collaboration with violin maker Manfred Reinl and apprenticed with Bein & Fushi, where he switched from violin making to bow making and became the first in-house bow maker and manager of the atelier's bow shop.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration, accessories

Particularities

Michael Becker studied violin making at the Geigenbauschule Mittenwald, Germany, after havind earned a bachelor's degree from DePaul University in music education. Subsequently he worked for Bein & Fushi in Chicago and later opened his own shop. He is a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers and of the Entente Internationale des Maitres Luthiers et Archetiers d'Art.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, new building, repair, restoration, leasing, accessories

Particularities

Gregory S. Sapp studied violin making at The Chicago School of Violin Making and worked for Kenneth Warren after having graduated in 1981. At Warren's atelier he worked with Zenon Petesh, as well as Choo Taik Rheem, Phillip Perret and Joe Krosnowsky and became Head Repairman in 1986. He opened his own atelier in 1994, with a downtown Chicago branch from 2003 and the Batavia shop from 2018.

In 2015, luthier Daniel Gillespie joined Sapp's workshop as a luthier, repairer and restorer.

Qualification

violin maker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration, leasing, accessories

Qualification

violin maker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration, accessories

Particularities

Chunyee Lu graduated from The Chicago School of Violin Making and worked as the primary restorator for Kagan & Gaines. Later he became the Head of Restoration in William Harrison Lee Company and opened his own atelier, the Guadagnini Violin Shop in 2001.

Qualification

bow maker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration

Particularities

Eric Swanson studied violin making at The Chicago School of Violin Making and subsequently worked at several ateliers, including some of Chicago’s finest dealers. He continued his education with Yung Chin, Michael Darnton and Jerry Pasewicz and attended the Oberlin workshop frequently. who helped him along the way. In 2001, he established his own workshop specializing on bow rehairing and repair and dealing with a small selection of fine instruments and bows. Today he spents many time of a year in his house in Faverolles sur Cher, France, in order to search for inspiration and interesting instruments and bows.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

repair, restoration

Particularities

Ryan McLaughlin attended the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City and subsequently joined the team at Michael Becker Fine Violins in Park Ridge, Illinois. He continued his studies at the Violin Society of America’s (VSA) Violin Restoration Workshop in Oberlin, Ohio, under Rene Morel, John Becker, Andrew Fairfax, Jerry Pasewicz, Joseph Grubaugh, Rodney Mohr, David Orlin, Jeff Holmes, Guy Rabut, Marilyn Wallin, and David Burgess. Later he became the Workshop Manager at Williams Gengakki Violins in Atlanta, Georgia, where he opened his own workshop, that moved to its current location in Chicago’s Fine Arts Building.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, new building, repair, restoration, leasing, accessories

Particularities

Peter Seman started as a self-taught violinist in Long Island, NY and attended the School for Fine Arts at Buffalo State College. Being a passionate musician, he nevertheless focused on building stringed instruments and attended the Chicago School of Violin Making (CSVM) from 1984. In 1989 he opened Seman Violins, a company that quickly grew to a team of up to nine members.

The staff at Seman Violins

• Noah Scott
• Heeyoung Kang
• Drew Harding
• Daniella Appel
• Steven R. Thomas

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration, accessories

Particularities

Kenneth Warren & Son Ltd. traces back to the violin shop of Kenneth Warren Sr. that was founded in 1926 and closely cooperated with Rembert Wurlitzer in New York City and W. E. Hill & Sons in London. Warren established the Kenneth Warren School of Violin Making in 1975 that was sold to Tschu Ho Lee in 1983 and exists today as The Chicago School of Violin Making.

Kenneth Warren Jr. was taught in his father's atelier by master luthiers John Hornsteiner and Eugene Knapik and took over administrative responsibility in 1953. In 1973 his son Jim Warren joined the company, and today James Warren, the great-grandson of the founder, is president and chief expert at Kenneth Warren & Son Ltd.

Qualification

master violinmaker, restorer

Service

trade, repair, restoration

Particularities

The atelier of Robert Bein and Geoffrei Fushi was founded in 1976 and is one of the leading dealers and restorers of fine stringed instruments worldwide.