The three-year, comprehensive Violin Making & Repair program at NBSS is one of the few full-time instrument making programs in the U.S. The curriculum provides a solid foundation to the art and science of stringed instrument making, and an introduction to restoration.
Violin Making & Repair is learned through hands-on work. The program follows the highest standards of the craft and teaches repair, restoration, and set-up of stringed instruments. Over the course of this three-year program, you’ll build six violins and a viola. Students, alumni, and faculty regularly receive international recognition for the craftsmanship and tonality of their instruments.
"Attention to detail and a hard work ethic were the greatest benefits of my NBSS education. The group dynamic in the violin workshop inspired me to work harder and dream larger than I had ever thought possible."
Colin Skofield VM '05
View More Violin Making & Repair Alumni Profiles
Two recent Violin Making & Repair graduates won awards for their work at the biennial Violin Society of America convention—and it was their first time entering a piece. According to Department Head Roman Barnas, "The makers who compete at the VSA represent the highest level of violin making in the world. What Justin and Evan have achieved is unheard of."
NBSS was recently featured in Strings Magazine! Read about one student's path to North Bennet Street School and our Violin Making & Repair program.
The best way to make sure tools do exactly what their users intend is to make them as sharp as possible. NBSS has had a cutting-edge program in Violin Making & Repair for 32 years, but the room's new tool-sharpening station—made possible by a gift from the Cricket Foundation—has brought new meaning to that phrase.
Player feedback must guide making violins, says Roman Barnas, Violin Making & Repair Department Head at NBSS. "If students have a strong playing background," he explains, "they tend to pre-judge instruments in a particular way." Read more about how Roman and the Violin Making & Repair Program were featured in a September 2016 article in The Strad magazine.
2015 Distinguished Alumus Kevin Kelly VM '92 helped repair a 300-year-old guitar from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Read more in an excerpt from this June 18, 2016 Boston Globe article.