A fixture of the east Tennessee music scene, the fiddle and mandolin maker died on 14 January aged 91

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Luthier Gene Horner © Hollie Deese, Nashville Interiors

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Tennessee-based luthier Gene Horner died on 14 January at the age of 91 at the Ben Atchley Tennessee Veteran’s Home in Knoxville.

Horner was a well known luthier among bluegrass and folk musicians in the area, building and repairing fiddles, mandolins, banjos and other instruments during his 75-year career. 

Horner was born on 7 May 1933 and came from a family of bluegrass fiddlers. His fiddle playing and violin making skills were largely self-taught when at the age of 15, repaired his grandfather’s old fiddle. 

After a stint in the US Navy, Horner continued to explore his lutherie skills, which expanded beyond violin making to cabinets and toys. By 1975, he dedicated himself to making musical instruments, making over 500 fiddles and about sixty mandolins, as well as banjos, cellos, violas and two double basses throughout his career. He chose to specialise in fiddle and mandolin making and used American wood in many of his instruments.

Horner’s workshop was located in Westel, TN, where many bluegrass, old-time musicians, plus touring artists from Nashville visited his shop, often resulting in jam sessions.

He received a Tennessee Governor’s Award in 2009 for his life’s work, and was the feature of a video biography in 2013 by The Jackson Foundation.

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