Southern Violin Association
association of violin makers in the Western Hemisphere

Bulletins

BULLETIN - JANUARY 2021

ANNOUNCING THE 3RD BIENNIAL

VIOLIN MAKERS' COMPETITION

SPRING 2021


****WITH LIVE STREAMING****


PREPARE YOUR ENTRIES FOR OUR THIRD BIENNIAL

OPEN INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN MAKERS COMPETITION

OUR TARGET DATE IS FIRST OF MAY, 2021, IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A.

THE SOUTHERN VIOLIN ASSOCIATION IS PREPARING TO HOST ITS THIRD COMPETITION AROUND THE FIRST OF MAY 2021. IT WILL BE HELD IN THE CITY OF ATLANTA.


WE ARE CURRENTLY PLANNING TO LIVE STREAM MOST OF THE COMPETITION WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO DISCUSS THE PROCESS WITH MEMBERS AS THE JUDGES GO THROUGH THEIR ROUTINES.



ALL ENTRIES WILL NEED TO BE DELIVERED NOT LATER THAN FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE CONFERENCE. THIS COMPLIES WITH RECOMMENDED COVID-19 GUIDELINES FOR THE LIFESPAN OF THE VIRUS ON WOOD AND MOST RELATED OBJECTS. THIS ALLOWS THE JUDGES TO HANDLE THE INSTRUMENTS.


  1. THIS WILL BE VIOLINS AND VIOLAS ONLY

  2. INSTRUMENTS MUST BE LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD

  3. A MAXIMUM OF TWO INSTRUMENTS MAY BE ENTERED IN THE COMPETITION. THEY MAY BE IN THE SAME CATEGORY (I.E. TWO VIOLINS OR TWO VIOLA) OR SPLIT - ONE VIOLIN AND ONE VIOLA.

  4. OTHERWISE RULES FROM LAST COMPETITION REMAIN THE SAME,

  5. INSTRUMENTS MUST BE OWNER-INSURED. WE WILL HANDLE THEM WITH THE SAME CARE WE WOULD DEVOTE TO OUR OWN INSTRUMENTS, HOWEVER THE ASSOCIATION TAKES NO LIABILITY FOR INSTRUMENTS LOST, DAMAGED, OR DESTROYED.


IN ADDITION TO FIRST, SECOND, THIRD PLACE AWARDS IN BOTH WORKMANSHIP AND TONE, WE WILL ALSO AWARD A NOVICE AWARD TO THE HIGHEST RATED VIOLIN AND VIOLA SUBMITTED BY A "NOVICE" MAKER (HAVING COMPLETED NO MORE THAN TEN INSTRUMENTS AT THE TIME OF THE COMPETITION.)


THERE WILL BE A SOUTHERN MAKER AWARD GIVEN TO THE HIGHEST RATED VIOLIN AND VIOLA SUBMITTED BY A SOUTHERN MAKER (SEE RULES).


SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE IN THE COMING WEEKS, BUT YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO HAVE YOUR ENTRIES COMPLETED BY EARLY APRIL.


JUDGES FOR WORKMANSHIP WILL INCLUDE JAIME GONZALES OF MEXICO, FIRST PLACE WINNER IN OUR 2019 COMPETITION. TONE JUDGES WILL COME FROM THE ATLANTA SYMPHONY, AND WILL LIKELY INCLUDE OUR OLD FRIEND, JUAN RAMIREZ, TONE JUDGE FOR OUR PREVIOUS TWO COMPETITIONS. WE ARE STILL WORKING ON VENUE AND JUDGING STAFF.


LET US KNOW IF YOU INTEND TO SUBMIT ENTRIES BY NUMBER AND TYPE -- PLEASE EMAIL THE COMPETITION COMMITTEE. THIS WILL HELP US WITH OUR PLANNING.


We will post updates and more information over the coming months on our webpage. Click here for Website

BULLETIN #15

General Membership Meeting

The general membership meeting was held at Huthmaker’s Violins, Duluth, Georgia on Sunday May 25. Two new directors were added to replace previous board members. Outgoing board members were Derek Smith, Jonathan Simon and Jim Clinton and incoming board members are Bill Mason and Pablo Alfaro.

The board of directors members and terms are as follows

David Chandler, President 2012-2016

Dustin Williams, Treasurer 2012-2016

Russell Hopper 2012-2016

David Wascher 2012-2016

Bill Mason 2014-2018

Pablo Alfaro 2014-2018

The next annual meeting will be April 12, 2015. Right now we aren’t sure if it will be at Huthmakers or not, until we’ve seen their new facility, but in any case we’ll make sure the word gets out where the meeting will be. They’ve been very gracious in hosting our annual meetings three straight years now, and the board wishes them all the best in their new digs.

After the business meeting, we adjourned to a pizza restaurant across the street. After reconvening back at Huthmakers, William Mason of Mason Violins in Fredericksburg, Virginia presented a slide show that captured the growth of their business that began working out of their home, to a full size shop, and all the issues that came up along the way. Then David Chandler gave a presentation on the issues that have faced the Appalachian Red Spruce over the past century, and discussed where and how to collect ARS today. A copy of Dave Chandler’s presentation in hard copy can be obtained by emailing me at david@ccvn.com but you must be a current member to receive a copy.

Traveling American Violin Maker exhibit  

The major topic discussed at the meeting revolved around a concept that will promote up to 50 American Makers to tour 5-6 major markets around the South, spending up to 6 weeks hosted by a major violin shop in each represented area. We’re shooting for 2017, and putting some meat on the bones of this idea right now. We’ve already had three shops volunteer to host the event in their areas, and I’m sure we’ll have no problem identifying 50 American Makers to participate. This event will promote American makers here in the South and Southeast. For host shops, the exhibit will be used as a marketing event to build on, and for makers it could result in some sales, and regional recognition. For our organization, we achieve several of our organizations goals, and hopefully have some funds left over for future projects. If successful, we may repeat this event every few years.

Howard Core Visit

We’re scheduling another Howard Core visit for Friday, October 3, 2014. Great outing to get some of those supplies you need, and avoid shipping costs, and maybe even save some money. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to pick through violin wood, matching up odd backs with rib wood etc. Others stock up on cello cases and other large items that are costly to ship otherwise. We’ll meet there at 10am. This will be a work day for them, so you may get to see the various operations while fully staffed. David Luce, the general manager, has in the past provided the group with a barbeque lunch, and then each person is on their own to pick through the parts department. Last visit, he had some very expensive instruments that had some relatively minor issues, at very discounted prices (no guarantee, as I said this was last visit).

Jim Clinton Violins is Hiring

Jim Clinton violins in Greenville, NC, is looking for a full time repair person he can put to work right away. Give him a call at864-322-2622, or email jim@jcviolins.com. To see his shop info, go to http://www.jcviolins.com.

International Woodworker Fair – Atlanta August 22-24

Located at the Georgia World Congress Center, you’ll find all kinds of tools of the trade, and bump elbows with 40,000 plus attendees, and over a thousand vendors. Have fun, tell me how it went! For more info go to http://iwfatlanta.com.

David Chandler, President

david@ccvn.com

828-675-0449

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