The Orkney Tour

My tour to the Orkney Isles and North of Scotland including a workshop on violin making as part of the Orkney International Science Festival.

KIRKWALL, ORKNEY

September, 2023

Violin-making workshop with Colin and Findlay Tulloch.

This was a real highlight of my trip to Orkney. It was lovely to meet the violin-makers Colin and Findlay Tulloch and spend a morning trying out their violins and have the opportunity to demonstrate them and talk about them in a workshop on violin-making and sound production for Orkney International Science Festival: https://oisf.org/

It tied in perfectly with the science festival’s theme of the sun as the sunshine of Italy has produced some the finest of stringed instruments down the centuries. It is no coincidence that virtuosos in violin playing – from Vivaldi to Locatelli, Paganini and Viotti– emerged in sunny Italy, where the great instrumental craftsmen in small towns like Cremona, Turin, Ivrea and Bologna were experimenting with the science of sound, searching for quality of response and tone, using the raw natural materials of wood, horsehair, resin and gut.

We talked about all of this in our discussion and I also had a chance to demonstrate some short excerpts on two beautiful violins made by Colin and Findlay. It was great for this project to bring so many elements together – violin-making, violinists, sound engineers and many thanks also to the organisers at the science festival and Robin Barr who were brilliant with all the recording, discussion and technical expertise. Thank you!