VSA 2010

This post originally appeared on the ‘fiddlefish.com’ blog. It’s here for archival purposes only.

The Violin Society of America has posted the results for this year’s violin making convention. First prize for best violin and viola went to Salt Lake City’s Jeff Phillips who hails from Canada. To put this win in perspective, previous gold medal winners include Sam Zygmuntowicz, whose win catapulted his popularity among soloists in the years that followed. One can expect a surge in demand for Mr. Phillip’s fine instruments. It is interesting to see that Jeff has dedicated his time to become the finest of copyists, which I would assume is a sort of right-of-passage for makers. Would triumphing beyond the Masters of three-hundred years ago be a next goal for this young maker?

It was nice to see another Canadian winner, Raymond Schryer, take sliver for violin, and Indianapolis’ Theodore Skreko. What an exciting time to be a violin maker.