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Opinion: The future of lutherie after the Newark School’s course cancellations

2025-06-27T08:48:00

08 Newark modern sign

News came in May that the Newark School of Violin Making is withdrawing its degree-level courses. Helen Michetschläger, who trained at the school, says what this might mean for the future of lutherie worldwide

Violin making has been a success story in the UK since the inception of the Newark School of Violin Making in 1972, capably run by its first director Maurice Bouette. Over more than 50 years, around 900 students have completed the course, the majority finding work in the trade. There can barely be a workshop in the world that doesn’t employ a Newark alumnus. Without Newark, the standard of violin making would not be at the level it is today…

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