A Strad Inspired Violin - log 3/21/2010

Sunday,March 21, 2010
Trip to New Orleans  

Leaving Indy at 5:54 AM, by the time we crossed the Ohio river on I 65 heading to Louisville, KY. we were already making good.

Here at dawn you can still see Louisville city lights in this photo I shot with my camera phone.

12 hours later after a safe  825 mile (pleasantly uneventful) trip down I 65 to Birmingham, AL and across I 59 and I 10 into New Orleans I reached the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra office where volunteers helped unload.

This photo shows my approach to New Orleans over the I 10 cause way.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 3/20/2010

Saturday, March 20, 2010 

Ready for Pick Up

I arrived at Indianapolis Violins a few minutes after 10:00 AM and found Ben sealing the bridge ready for Chris to put on the violin’s strings.  Shortly we were tuning it, playing it and photographing it. 

This new violin is just as great as other instruments Ben has made from scratch, finished or set up. It is a lovely sounding, resonant instrument, even across the strings and positions, and easy to play.  It was as if my left ear was listening through a key hole into a concert hall.  Below Benjamin Parrott makes the formal presentation of Dr. Samuel Siurua’s Memorial Violin to me, Jerry Allen.

Below I make the formal presentation of Dr. Samuel Siurua’s Memorial Violin to the primary donor who made it possible, Diantha De Graw.  In the right foreground my sidekick Noble had to get in the picture.

Below on the left clearly visible through the bass side F hole is the label dedicating this commissioned Indianapolis Violins violin in the memory of Dr. Samuel W. Siurua.  On the right Donna Lively Clark kneels behind Sam’s instrument and two lovely violas while most of the other donated violins are displayed to her right.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 3/18/2010

Friday March 12, 2010 

In Memory of Dr. Samuel Wasson Siurua

In early February after the earthquake in Haiti Donna Lively Clark forwarded an e-mail to me regarding a project to replace instruments and other music materials lost by Holy Trinity Music School and Port au Prince, Haiti.  The e-mail was from Dr. Jean Montes of Loyola University and the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra.

Below is an image of the plea from the website of the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra

In Dr. Montes' own words:

Dear Friends,

Words are not enough to thank you for the level of kindness

you have expressed toward Haiti in the past few weeks. This

enormous tragedy exposed the fragility of our human

existence. It has also helped us reassess the true meaning

of our own lives.

Today, I am reaching out to you and your friends to make a

contribution to the future of Haiti.

The Holy Trinity School of Music, the most well-established

music school in Haiti, which gave me and many others the

foundation we needed to be musicians and become valuable

contributors on the world stage, lies in ruin. But the

spirit of the school lives on. Now, more than ever, we can

work together to make a positive impact in the lives of

Haiti’s young musicians.

While we are making efforts to rebuild the school, which was

a cultural center for the performing arts in Haiti, we need

to do something immediately to save lives and heal wounded

souls through the power of music.

Therefore, in this first phase of our efforts and with the

generous support of the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra

(a 501.c3 nonprofit organization), I am organizing a massive

effort to collect music instruments, as many as possible,

for the music students in Haiti who have lost everything.

We will be giving these students something tangible to hold

on to so they can continue to keep music in their lives.

Their new instruments will bring them comfort and support in

the wake of the earthquake in which most instruments and

supplies were lost.

In eight weeks, I will travel with a small group of

volunteers to Haiti for a three-day trip during which these

instruments will be distributed to the music students who

have survived the tragedy.

If, in the corner of your room or in your attic you have an

instrument that you would love to share with these children,

please send it to the GNOYO address on the attached flyer.

Place a legal-sized envelope with your name and address

inside the instrument’s case. We will take pictures of

each student with their new instrument and send the picture

to you.

The values and lessons I learned while growing up in Haiti

have made me the man, conductor, musician, and teacher I am

today. I have always been dedicated to giving back and

instilling hope in the youth of my homeland and I truly

understand the needs and struggles that the young people

encounter in the country. I believe that our efforts will

bring hope, joy, and relief to these students and will make

a valuable contribution toward a brighter future for the

people of Haiti.

Please share this with anyone you know who might be

interested in making a donation and help us spread the word

in various media outlets, such as the newspaper, radio, TV,

and the internet.

Thank you so much for your help. I will keep all of you

updated with the progress of our efforts.

 Sincerely,

****************

Dr. Jean Montes

Director of Orchestral Studies and Coordinator of Strings

Associate Professor of Music

Loyola University New Orleans

College of Music & Fine Arts

6363 St. Charles Avenue

Campus Box 8

New Orleans, LA 70118

504-865-2167

Fax: 504-856-2852

jmontes@loyno.edu

With the passing of Dr Samuel W. Siurua on February 21, 2010 it seemed only fitting to assist this relief effort by donating a violin in his memory.  A number of Sam's friends and my own including Diantha Degraw, Charles Hewitt, Leslie Kenny, and Joie Kipka contributed funds to this end.  Luthier Benjamin Parrott agreed to quickly finish a good quality violin in the white and set it up with appropriate fittings under the auspices of Indianapolis Violins at cost.  The deadline for delivery to New Orleans, March 22nd now rapidly approaches.

Below are pictures of Ben and the violin with the ground coats of varnish dried and the next coat being applied on March 12th.

G.

Thursday, March 18, 2010


Work Progresses on Local Haitian Youth Music Relief Collections and Sam's Violin


Donna Lively Clark, an Indianapolis based professional violist and teacher, has coordinated the collection of instruments in central Indiana for the Haitian Youth Music Relief effort.  Donna  has taught at the Holy Trinity Music School in Port au Prince on a regular basis and has a number of students who were impacted by the earthquake.   This afternoon I picked up the last 2 of the 7 K. Holtz Model 30 Carbon Composite viola and violin bows from Frank's Violins.

Mark Kurkowski, General Manager, ordered the bows through Eastman Strings who deep discounted them because they were for the Haitian project.  Mark passed along the hugh savings so that we could stretch our tight budget as far as possible.  Unfortunately, 7 of the 12 violins and violas donated came without bows which were as essential to the students receiving them as the instruments themselves.

Below Mark is shown holding a purple K. Holtz Model 30 Viola bow just received at his new location, 6450 West 10th Street, Suite 6.

After thanking Mark I headed downtown to Indianapolis Violins to check on Ben's progress with Sam's violin.

As I mentioned before Benjamin is working with Ted Skreko and Chris Ulbricht who founded the Indianapolis Violins shop.

Below Ted and Chris stand holding the Jon Paul carbon fiber bow to go with Sam's violin which they generously provided at cost. Ted rehaired and restored this previously owned bow to near new condition.

I was delighted to see Ben's progress on Sam's violin today.  Here you can see the violin with the clamps still in place holding on the finger board he had glued this morning.

Below now with the clamps removed Ben stands showing on the left  the beautiful one piece maple back and on the right the fine spruce top.  Ben says that he may be pulling an all-nighter tonight so that he can fine tune the finger board and finish and setup the bridge, sound post, the end post and pegs as well as stringing it up, all by tomorrow morning's deadline.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 2/21/2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sam Has Gone


At 5:02 P.M., Sunday, February 21, 2010, Dr. Samuel Wasson Siurua, age 93, passed away in his apartment home at Robin Run Village, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Sam was comfortable and passed quickly without pain.


Dr. Siurua born December 16, 1916 in Dallas, Texas grew up in Pecan, Miss.

Dr. Siurua was an accomplished man but even more importantly was a man who cared about the needs of his fellow man and lived his life with an utmost caring, tolerance and civility toward those around him, whether students, colleagues, family, friends or acquaintances.

He received degrees in Music Education and Violin from The Chicago Musical College. Later he received his Doctor of Music Education degree from Indiana University after compiling the only History of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

He served in the Army during WW II as a band musician and radio man.

He came to Indianapolis to teach instrumental music in the public schools retiring in 1982 after 30 years. He taught at schools number 60, 86, 90, 27, 32, 105 and 93. He directed the George Washington High School Orchestra and was head of the music department at Northwest High School.

He was Principal Violist or 2nd Violinist with the Indianapolis Philharmonic Orchestra playing 10 seasons.

Dr. Siurua was a lifelong member of North United Methodist Church.

His funeral service will be in the Chapel at North United Methodist Church, 38th and Meridian Streets in Indianapolis at 2:30 P.M. on Friday February 26th. Calling will be in the Parlor before the service at 1:30 PM. Interment will be at Crown Hill Cemetery.

Sam will be greatly missed by his many friends and former students. He is survived by Sally Emily of Woodstock, Ga.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 2/16/2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Playing-In the "Saint"

A day after I picked up the "Saint" from Ben Parrott I had some time to check with John Rihani about his offer to loan me a device that helped with the playing-in process. It is commonly held that violins and other string instruments that are new or have not been played for a long time experience improvement in their sound if they are played regularly for a significant period of time.

John is the String Manager at Encore Orchestral Strings a unit of Paige's Music.  A few weeks ago I shared with him my interest in the ToneRite play-in device.  John graciously offered to let me borrow their ToneRite device for a short period of time to see what I thought of its impact on my newly completed Benjamin Parrott violin.

According to FAQ's at the ToneRite website: "The play-in process is a scientific phenomenon that the quality and volume of sound from an acoustic system increases with consistent stimulation.  The ToneRite^® works by efficiently and safely transferring energy into an instrument that allows the instrument to resonate freely thereby increasing its volume, tone, balance and playability. The secret behind the ToneRite^® is that a small high-g vibration can silently and for long periods of time excite the body of an instrument to de-dampen and allow the instrument to resonate as a whole."

The above statements and others I read really appealed to the technophile in me.  As romantic as I am about violins I am still a child of the age of technology.

I connected the device and left it on my instrument for about three hours that afternoon before I took my instrument to the Play Ethic String Sinfonietta rehearsal.  About an hour or so into the rehearsal it seemed to me that the violin was starting to resonate more.  At break I played it a bit for several members who commented that it sounded very good and wondered how much better it would sound later given that it had only been fitted a day before.

That night when I got home I hooked up the device again and left it running on high setting until the next morning (about 12 hours).  When I disconnected it and started to practice I was a bit disappointed that it did not seem to be as resonate as the evening before.  However, I was playing it in a carpeted low ceiling apartment rather than the much more acoustically alive rehearsal room at Play Ethic.

Below is the "Saint" with the ToneRite device connected.

After practicing I hooked it back up until time to go to my violin lesson with David Rugger.  David was very pleased with how evenly matched my Ben Parrott violin was to his Ben Parrott violin.  Playing Vivaldi and Corelli duets together they seemed to play with lovely balanced voices.  

Later I went to the Athenaeum Pops Orchestra rehearsal.  Again, I was in a much more acoustically alive room and with very loud brass and woodwind instruments competing I was very happy that the volume under my ear was more than equal to them.

Back home I hooked the device up again and the next morning12 hours later took the "Saint" out to practice. This time even in my apartment there was a significant increase in resonance.  As a simple test I had decided to play open strings and one octave higher harmonics listening for the quality of the reverberation and how long it lasted.  At this point the D and A strings were very open.  The G and E were resonate but not quite as much as the other two.  Still I was very pleased with the improvement in only about 36 hours.

When I spoke with Benjamin I filled him in on the improvements in sound.  I told him that I really loved the "Saint" and found this all to be an exciting adventure.  It is as if you are gazing at a rosebud opening in slow motion.  Out of curiosity, after Ben mentioned he had not made note of the air resonance pitch, I tested the violin by humming into the bass F hole until I found the pitch at which the entire instrument reverberated most energetically.  Using my tuning meter I found that it was almost a perfect D.

Sunday morning after leaving the device hooked up still at maximum and now at 60 hours I practiced again and took note.  At this point the 4 strings were very nearly evenly matched in resonance, the power seemed increased and the volume and tone quality across strings and in all positions was very pleasing.

As of today, Tuesday, I have applied the ToneRite treatment for over 100 hours.  The sound seems to be stabilized but each time I play it seems to be somewhat more even.  ToneRite FAQs recommend an initial 72 hour treatment at maximum level.  With an additional 1-2 72 hours treatments other users seem to have found their instruments reach optimal treatment.  I intend to try this out myself.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 2/10/2010

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The "Saint" Delivered

I called Ben at the shop to see if we could arrange a time for me to pick up my violin.  We spoke Tuesday evening about the backup plan since that the Otto Tempel fittings did not arrive that day and I hoped for delivery the following day, February 10th, by fortunate coincidence my birthday.  Ben promised to set up the violin with temporary fitttings so that I would have it.  He had to finish cutting the bridge to the proper height that evening and promised to call me the following day when everything was ready.

Because I promised my friend, Sam Siurua ,I would bring the "Saint" with me at 2:00 P.M. I was becoming a bit anxious.  Ben said he could have it finished by 2:00 P.M. so I called Sam and Sto let everyone know I would be later than usual.

When I arrived at the shop everyone was very busy and Ben rather dispassionately told me my violin was hanging on the wire in the backroom.

When I walked in I was very surprised and quite happy.  There was the "Saint", complete and ready for delivery.  The beautiful hand carved, flamed boxwood fittings from Otto Tempel of Michelstadt, Germany had arrived 15 minutes before I called Ben and he needed the extra time to fit them on the "Saint".

With a nod to the pose Sam used to photograph his beloved Furber violin, I have photographed the "Saint" similarly.

Before Christmas Ben set up the instrument with only the ground applied to the wood.  At that time the violin sounded powerful, resonant and even across all strings and positions.  However,  I was a bit concerned and did not mentioned to Ben that there was a certain quality to the sound.  I could describe it as the sound of raw wood which of course it very nearly was.  I told Ben only that I hoped for a more creamy tone when it was finished and perhaps for my ear I would be happier fitting it with gut strings rather than the Dominants he used.

Clearly, even from first few notes my bow drew out, the rawness was gone.  The exact smooth creamy tone I hoped for was evident.  And, this was using the same strings that had been fitted for the trial before Christmas. 

Now the fun begins over the next few weeks as I have a chance to play in the "Saint".  Surprising changes were discernible as it opened up after merely 15 minutes of playing. 

Stayed tuned.  A poor pun but the sounds are so amazing when all four strings are perfectly in tune.  As I play it in tuning frequently I will added comments to the blog for those of you interested in that process.

A Strad Inspired Violin - Log 2/5/2010

Friday, February 5, 2010

"The Saint" Nears Completion

Since the last posting Ben has applied the black oil-based pigment and a coat of amber varnish to the ribs, and back completing that treatment similar to the top shown in the last posting.  The color is now evenly matched on all parts of the violin.  

The finish completion entails French polishing (the application and rubbing in of shellac) the entire instrument.  This is a final protective step which also smooths out any slight irregularities to the underlying varnish coats.  Ben is still working on selected areas of the finish with the French polish.

The Top 

The Back

The Base Side Ribs

The Treble Side Ribs

Detail of the Scroll Front

Detail of the Scroll Back

We are still waiting on the Otto Tempel fittings to arrive from Germany.  Ben needs to make thebridge and usually does that last once the fittings are available and minor adjustments are made to the finger board.  The sound post was completed before Christmas and is currently rattling around loose inside the violin.  

I am hoping the fittings will be delivered by next Tuesday the 9th of February so that I can take "The Saint" home on my birthday, Wednesday, February 10th.   It was extremely difficult to leave "The Saint" after seeing it so close to completion.  I told my papillon, Noble, he was going to have to make room for "The Saint' in my  bed.  Hopefully, there will be room for both of them.