Although said in jest, the seed had been planted and began to take root. On those occasions when I would go by Harold's violin shop for various supplies or to have a bow re-haired, I began to pay closer attention to the vast array of specialty violin building tools, various segments of instruments in the midst of being built or repaired, and the literally hundreds of violins and violas hanging from their scrolls on wires running from ceiling edge to ceiling edge. It was a magical place where the imagination soared, and I found myself increasingly asking Harold questions about his profession, basic ones first. 
"What made you want to start building violins in the first place?" Harold's obvious love of the sound, shape, and history of quality stringed instruments struck me as profoundly moving and beautiful, something I wanted to know more about. At every opportunity in the coming months, I managed to get him talking about his favorite subject, violins. He began to loan me awe-inspiring books about the art of violin making...and the bug got me.I, too, have always loved so much about stringed instruments, especially their sound and their delicate design. I had played viola since the 2nd grade, joining my sister Julie who also played the viola and brother John, a cellist. The three of us ended up full time students at the Netherlands Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague at ages 16, 17, and 19. Although originally trained as a choral conductor, I have had my own orchestras for the past two decades, currently conducting the two student string ensembles and adult chamber orchestra of Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, PA, in addition to two student choirs and a large adult community chorus.
But in the 56 years since my first viola lesson, I had never considered how much went into building a quality viola. I had never noticed the various segments of the instrument or seen one apart for repair. I had never looked into the history of violin making, which is fascinating. For the first time it hit me that the fundamental design for violins, violas, and cellos had not changed since the instruments of Andreas Amati in the 16th century, who developed the basic design used for the violin family of instruments
and also invented the bass bar and probably the sound post, the two additions which exponentially increased the volume and capacity of the sound of a violin. Marie DiMedici was Andreas Amati's patron. Marie wanted a new invention for her son's inauguration as Charles 9th of France, so she asked Amati to come up with a new invention, and the viola was born. The violin family as we know it was on its way! Amati made a number of instruments for the French court, including a cello which is now in the Shrine to Music Museum in South Dakota. The oldest instrument of the violin family still in existence is an Amati viola dated 1535.
and also invented the bass bar and probably the sound post, the two additions which exponentially increased the volume and capacity of the sound of a violin. Marie DiMedici was Andreas Amati's patron. Marie wanted a new invention for her son's inauguration as Charles 9th of France, so she asked Amati to come up with a new invention, and the viola was born. The violin family as we know it was on its way! Amati made a number of instruments for the French court, including a cello which is now in the Shrine to Music Museum in South Dakota. The oldest instrument of the violin family still in existence is an Amati viola dated 1535.In the 17th century and even 18th centuries, violin makers made a few adjustments to those earliest instruments, e.g. lengthening the neck and raising its angle, raising the bridge, etc., to add more power and the increased flexibility necessary for modern concert halls and repertoire. 
But all in all, today's violins are fundamentally of Amati's 16th century design and technology, with most of the work of building a violin or viola still done by hand with tools similar to those used by the great luthiers of legend, e.g. the Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri families of Cremonia, Italy. The shocker for me, though, was the realization that each instrument still requires up to 250 hours of work. As of this writing, I am up to 125 hours...but who's counting?
But all in all, today's violins are fundamentally of Amati's 16th century design and technology, with most of the work of building a violin or viola still done by hand with tools similar to those used by the great luthiers of legend, e.g. the Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri families of Cremonia, Italy. The shocker for me, though, was the realization that each instrument still requires up to 250 hours of work. As of this writing, I am up to 125 hours...but who's counting?Since I conduct six ensembles, administrate a community concert series and international choir tours, teach Advance Placement Music Theory, teach choral workshops around the country, compose music, have just finished a new book and am starting to write another, this commitment to give 250 hours over a year's time as an apprentice to a violin maker to carve my own instrument was substantial and intimidating...but well worth the journey!
