Violin Makers
Iris CARR
Iris Carr graduated from the Newark School of Violinmaking with distinction in 1996 and was offered a job at Charles Beare’s shop in London where she trained as a Violin Restorer alongside very experienced and skilled craftsmen, working on fine violins, violas and cellos. After 8 years of working at J & A Beare, Iris set up her own business in Suffolk in the UK in 2004, concentrating on major restoration projects which have included instruments by Antonio Stradivari, the Guarneri and Amati family and many more. Since 2012, Iris has been teaching restoration work and her specialised subject of retouching in the UK and abroad, including France, the USA, Canada, Japan, Poland, Finland and Belgium. Prompted by Covid in 2020, Iris started creating online courses in restoration work including violin neckgrafts and crack repair as well as 3 Zoom lectures which were organised by the Rowan-Armour-Brown Trust. In recent years, Iris has become more involved again in instrument making, with a particular interest in the antiquing process in collaboration with her husband Tony.
Peter BEARE
Coming soon...
Marianne JOST
Born in Locarno, Switzerland, she moved to Cremona in 1993, where she attended the International School of Violin Making (I.P.I.A.L.L.) in Cremona, graduating in 1997. She further refined her training under the guidance of Masters Francesco and Vincenzo Bissolotti. From 1998 to 2001, she attended the bow-making course organized by Regione Lombardia, broadening her technical expertise. Between 2001 and 2002, she specialized in restoration at the workshop of Master Rainer Krause in Germany. She has participated, receiving recognition, in some of the most important violin-making competitions, including the Triennale di Cremona. For three years, she has been working as a master in the F.S.L. training courses (School–Work Training) at the International School of Violin Making in Cremona. She lives and works in Cremona with her husband, dedicating herself exclusively to the construction of new instruments.
Silvio LEVAGGI
I trained at the Cremona International Violin Making School under the tuition of Master V. Bissolotti and W Zambelli and obtained my diploma in 1984. In my workshop I devote all my time to the making of violins, violas and cellos of the finest quality, inspired by the classical Italian schools of violinmaking. Since 1998, I regularly take part in International Violin Making Competitions where I got numerous prizes: 4 Gold Medals: Cremona 2009, Parigi 2004, Manchester 2004, Mittenwald 2001; 4 Silver Medals: VSA 2010 and 2002; 2 Bronze Medals; Mittenwald 2005, Cremona 2003; 18 Certificates of Merit or Special Prizes: International Violinmaking Competitions from 1998 to 2010. I has served on the jury panel of: “Etienne Vatelot” International Violinmaking Competition - Paris 2011 VioloncellenSeine – Cello Making Competition - Paris 2014 Metelka Competition – International Violinmaking Competition – Prague 2017 Internationalen Geigenbauwettbewerb - Mittenwald 2018 VSA international Violinmaking Competition – Anaheim, CA (USA) 2022 Concours International de Lutherie – Philharmonie de Paris – Talents & Violon’celles – Paris 2024 I am member of the Violin Society of America and ALADFI (Association des Luthiers et Archetiers pour le Développement de la Facture Instrumentale).
Bow Makers
Stéphane THOMACHOT
Stéphane Thomachot was born in 1959 in Bourg-la-Reine (Hauts-de-Seine), France. He began learning bow making in 1975 in the class of Bernard Ouchard at the Mirecourt School of Violin Making, graduating three years later. He was awarded gold medals at the VSA competitions in 1982 and 1984. In 1988, he received the Grand Prix of the City of Paris. In 1989, he was awarded the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France. In 1994, he was named Maître d’Art by the French Minister of Culture. Many bow makers from around the world have passed through his Paris workshop. In 2001, he left Paris to live in Provence, where he continues to practise his craft. He has served on numerous competition juries, including the Meilleur Ouvrier de France, as well as competitions in the USA, the UK, China, Germany, and others. He is a member of the GLAAF and the EILA (Entente Internationale des Luthiers et Archetiers). He is also one of the founding members of IPCI.
Doriane BODART
Born into a family of violin makers, Doriane started her apprenticeship in 1994 in Mirecourt with Gilles Duhaut, in Brussels with Pierre Guillaume, then with Stéphane Thomachot in Paris, where she stayed for 3 years. She also worked with Noel Burke in Ireland. In 1999, she moved to Paris and developed her own bows working only in the French tradition. Her bows are played by quartet members, soloists, and orchestral musicians all over Europe and the USA. - Grand Prize at the Viola's International Competition 2019 - Coup de coeur of violist Jean-Charles Monciero Viola's 2019 - Member of the jury at the international competition of violin and bow making and bow making competition in Beijing, 2019 - Certificate of Merit viola bow V.S.A, Los Angeles 2022 - Certificate of Merit cello bow V.S.A, Los Angeles 2022 - Spécial prize of the Jury for a viola bow International competition - Mirecourt 2023
Emmanuel CARLIER
Emmanuel Carlier began bow making in 2005 with Gilles Duhaut in Tours. Two years later, he joined Maison Bernard in Brussels as an assistant to Pierre Guillaume, with whom he developed a taste for antique bows. He then left Belgium for Italy, where he was awarded a residency at the Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome. Since 2014, he has lived and worked in Paris, where in 2022 he opened a new workshop with the violin maker Charles Coquet. Many of his bows are now played in major orchestras around the world. Awards and distinctions: “Hors concours”, Violin Society of America, with 7 gold medals (2012, 2016 and 2024) Meilleur Ouvrier de France, 2019 Best Playing Viola Bow, Darling Competition – Amsterdam, 2016 Gold Medal and Silver Medal, Mittenwald Competition, 2010
Pierre GUILLAUME
Born in 1963, Pierre Guillaume has established himself as one of the leading figures in contemporary bow making. He received his initial training in France, where he completed a three-year classical apprenticeship in Gilles Duhaut's workshop and worked alongside the last legendary craftsmen of the Mirecourt tradition of bow making, such as C. A. Bazin, L. Morizot and J.-Cl. Ouchard. Since 1986, Pierre Guillaume has been running Maison Bernard in Brussels alongside luthier Jan Strick. Founded in 1868, Maison Bernard continues the legacy of the great European violin-making houses through a personalised service dedicated to musicians, offering a unique collection of violins, violas, cellos and bows for sale, while ensuring their restoration with consistent high standards. Pierre Guillaume's profile is unique in its duality: he is both a prolific creator and a certified expert for the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office. He is sought after on every continent for his expert opinions. His certificates of authenticity have become a global benchmark. Committed to the longevity of his profession, Pierre Guillaume is keen to train many apprentices, including his son Simon Guillaume, now an established bow maker in Copenhagen. Today, Pierre Guillaume enjoys unrivalled prestige among the most famous musicians, collectors and auction houses, thanks to his passion for his craft and the seriousness and rigour with which he pursues it.
Musicians
Anna GÖCKEL violin
Noted for the depth and sincerity of her interpretations, Anna Göckel is one of the most fascinating violinists of her generation. Named Adami Classical Revelation in 2016 and awarded the Enesco Prize of SACEM in 2020, she passionately explores the wide range of repertoire open to a violinist’s life, from the Baroque repertoire to contemporary creation. She performs as a soloist with ensembles including the Orchestre de Chambre de Wallonie, the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Cannes, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica de la UAEH (Mexico), the Lemanic Modern Ensemble and the Centro de Experimentación y Producción de Música Contemporánea. A passionate chamber musician, she won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich at the age of 21 as a member of the Trio Karénine, which she co-founded (2005–2011), and has been invited in residence at some of the most important chamber music festivals, such as Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove (UK) and the Marlboro Chamber Music Festival (USA). Since last season, she has devoted a significant part of her energy to the string quartet repertoire, becoming the first violinist of the Aviv Quartet. She has recorded Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 for NoMadPlay with the Saarländisches Staatsorchester conducted by Sébastien Rouland. Her double album Sei Solo, in which she performs the complete Sonatas and Partitas by Bach for the label NoMadMusic, received the Coup de Cœur award from Classica magazine. Born in Marseille, where she began playing the violin, she later studied with Boris Belkin in the Netherlands, with Jean-Jacques Kantorow and Svetlin Roussev at the Paris Conservatoire, and in the class of the Ysaÿe Quartet. She further refined her training with David Grimal at the Hochschule für Musik in Saarbrücken, where she obtained a soloist diploma. She has also been deeply influenced and inspired by the guidance of Menahem Pressler, Ferenc Rados, Donald Weilerstein, Maxim Vengerov and Miriam Fried. Committed to musical education and transmission, she participates as a conductor in DEMOS orchestra projects and this year teaches violin at the Conservatoire Populaire de Genève and at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne. She is also the artistic director of the festival Le vent sur l’arbre in southern Burgundy. Anna Göckel is a laureate of the Fravanni Fund. She plays a 1786 violin by Nicolò Gagliano, generously loaned to her by the Lenoir Endowment Fund.
Sébastien SUREL Violin
Sébastien Surel captivates audiences with a luminous and expressive violin playing, overflowing with energy and imagination. He shines both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, where his generosity on stage and his talent are widely acclaimed. He performs a wide-ranging repertoire and also stands out as an accomplished improviser, appearing regularly on the jazz and world music scenes. He has performed in renowned venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. His career has also taken him to the stages of major jazz festivals, including Montreux, Jazz à Vienne, Marciac and Montreal. Founder of the Trio Talweg and first violin of the Ludwig Quartet, he regularly shares the stage with Roland Pidoux, Antoine Tamestit, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Claire Désert and Nicolas Altstaedt, and collaborates with the Ébène and Belcea Quartets. In 2014, he founded the trio Camara Pop with Vincent Segal and Tomás Gubitsch, exploring a repertoire that draws on the codes of chamber music while incorporating the distinctive influences of the three musicians. He also performs alongside artists such as Juanjo Mosalini, Jean-Philippe Viret, Ibrahim Maalouf, David Linx and Richard Galliano, with whom he has given more than 500 concerts around the world. He holds the Certificat d’Aptitude (CA) and teaches chamber music at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris.
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Crédit photo: Franck Ferville
John STULZ Viola
Born in 1988 in Ohio (United States), John Stulz has been a member of the Ensemble intercontemporain since 2015. After studying violin and viola with Roland and Almita Vamos in Chicago, he obtained his Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California in the class of Donald McInnes, as well as a Master’s degree at the New England Conservatory under the guidance of Kim Kashkashian and Garth Knox. Passionate about collaboration and musical exchange, John Stulz performs around the world with the Ensemble intercontemporain, as well as with other organisations such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Talea Ensemble, Ensemble ACJW, Decoda, the Omnibus Ensemble of Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and the Marlboro Music Festival. His entrepreneurial spirit has led him to found the What’s Next? Ensemble in Los Angeles in 2007 with conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni, as well as the VIVO Music Festival in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, in 2015 with violinist Siwoo Kim, and the Trio Estatico in 2019 with violists Megumi Kasakawa (Ensemble Modern) and Paul Beckett (Klangforum Wien). He is regularly invited to perform at festivals such as the Marlboro Festival, the Lucerne Festival Academy, the Verbier Festival (with the Festival Orchestra), the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Schwaz, and the Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara, California). Also a composer, his works and artistic projects have been presented in Los Angeles, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin, Tashkent and Omaha. John Stulz has been Professor of Viola at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon (CNSMDL) since 2021 and has taught at the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau since 2017.
Violaine DESPEYROUX Viola
‘I see music as a journey, a suspended moment that transforms with each interpretation. In this way, the audience is drawn directly into a story that we create together.’ This vision of musical performance as an immersive, shared experience is at the heart of Violaine Despeyroux's artistic approach. A French violist trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, she stands out on stage with her unique presence and energy that is both controlled and incandescent. Her enthusiasm and determination have led her to perform in prestigious European and international venues, including Victoria Hall, Seiji Ozawa Hall, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and Grand Théâtre de Provence. She has shared the stage with renowned partners such as Renaud Capuçon, Alexandre Kantorow, the Modigliani Quartet and Pierre Fouchenneret. The winner of several awards, she was unanimously awarded First Prize at the Concours National des Jeunes Altistes (National Competition for Young Viola Players), as well as Second Prize and the Prize for the Best Interpretation of Bach at the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition. A multi-faceted musician, Violaine Despeyroux is equally at home in chamber music and as a soloist. Her season will be marked by the recording of an album devoted to English music, as well as new chamber music collaborations with leading artistic partners. It will also be marked by the addition of three new concertos to her repertoire, reflecting her desire to enrich and renew her musical journey. Always curious about new repertoires, she has a deep passion for chamber music and the dialogue it creates between musicians and audiences. She can be heard at major music events such as the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, the La Roque d'Anthéron Festival, the Radio France Occitanie Festival Montpellier Festival and the Folles Journées de Nantes. She is also a regular guest with major ensembles such as the Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris, the Orchestre de Paris, the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and the Kölner Kammerorchester. But Violaine Despeyroux also likes to surprise, break free from conventions and explore unexpected paths. For her, classical music remains above all a living art: a vibrant art form whose colours and emotions she constantly explores, in a permanent search for nuances, encounters and intensity, in perfect harmony with her instrument — a 1863 Jacquot viola.
Pauline BARTISSOL Cello
Pauline Bartissol has established herself as a leading figure in the French cello scene: A principal cellist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France from 2007 to 2019, she has since been regularly invited to perform as principal cellist with numerous orchestras in France and abroad (Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Trondheim, Liège…) and her recordings with pianist Laurent Wagschal have all been unanimously praised by the press. A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse (CNSM) and the Cologne Musikhochschule, she spent many years studying with Marc Coppey, with whom she has shared the stage on numerous occasions and for whom she has been an assistant at the CNSM since 2013. Driven by boundless curiosity, she has, over time, established herself as an eclectic musician who traverses various repertoires. It is thus that she features as the dedicatee, alongside the Salzedo Trio, of works by Nina Senk, Joan Magrané, Ton-Thât Tiêt, B. Novoa Loira, Z. Gerenabarrena, Vincent Carinola… but also as a close collaborator of the saxophonist and unclassifiable improviser Jean-Charles Richard, the accordionist Vincent Lhermet and the pianist Laurent Wagschal, with whom she co-founded the flexible chamber music ensemble ‘Le déluge’ Since 2025, she has been artistic director, alongside flautist Marine Perez, of the association ‘La Pochette Musicale’, which aims to promote access to classical music for families and audiences who are not usually exposed to it. La Pochette Musicale organises, in particular, the ‘Croq’dimanches’ festival in the Jardin de Bagatelle in Paris every September.
Crédit photo: Raphaël Creton
Stéphanie HUANG Cello
Prizewinner of the 2022 Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium, where she also received both Audience Prizes (the Canvas–Klara Prize and the Musiq3 Prize), Grand Prize of the 2015 Suggia International Cello Competition in Porto, First Prize of the 2021 Società Umanitaria International Competition in Milan, and named ADAMI Classical Revelation 2021 in France, Stéphanie Huang has shaped her musical journey through passion and a strong sense of perfectionism. In January 2025, she joined the Orchestre de Paris as Principal Cello. She has also been a professor at the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel since September 2024. Born in Belgium into a family of musicians, Stéphanie Huang began playing the cello at a very young age. She won First Prize at the Dexia Competition and made her debut at the age of twelve at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, performing Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in 2017 from the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel with Jeroen Reuling, she continued her studies with Marc Coppey and Emmanuelle Bertrand (chamber music) at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, and with Gary Hoffman at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, receiving numerous awards from foundations including Spes, Meyer, Kriegelstein, Safran and Banque Populaire. She plays a cello by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, generously loaned by the Adelus Endowment Fund.
Daniel MITNITSKY Cello
Born in Tel Aviv, the cellist Daniel Mitnitsky trained for 17 years under the guidance of his mentor, Zvi Harell. He studied at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv and at the New England Conservatory in Boston, in the classes of Paul Katz and Natasha Brofsky. He also had the privilege of working with the great musician Bernard Greenhouse. Chamber music quickly established itself as his preferred means of expression. In 2015, he moved to Europe to join the Aviv Quartet, with which he performs across Europe, the United States, Israel, Canada, and South America. Recently, the quartet devoted itself to Beethoven’s string quartets, performing the complete cycle in a series of concerts recorded by Swiss Radio and Television. He has performed both as a soloist and chamber musician at Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the KKL in Lucerne, the Rosey Concert Hall, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, De Doelen in Rotterdam, TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Jerusalem Theatre, Jordan Hall in Boston, and the Lviv National Philharmonic. He made his debut as a soloist with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in Brahms’s Double Concerto. He has been invited to the prestigious Perlman Music Program, the Amsterdam Cello Biennale, the Gstaad Festival, the Verbier Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. He has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Maxim Vengerov, Itzhak Perlman, Valentin Erben, Timothy Ridout, Anastasia Kobekina, and Shani Diluka, as well as members of the Juilliard String Quartet and the Ébène Quartet. Passionate about the vast repertoire of the last century, Daniel has also collaborated with composers such as John Corigliano, Steven Stucky, John Heiss, Lera Auerbach, Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, and Helena Winkelman, whose concerto Tree Talk he performed in 2021. His discography includes a recording for the Naxos label featuring Schubert’s String Trio D. 581 and Quintet D. 956, as well as a recording entitled Live at Zentrum Paul Klee Bern with the Tharice Virtuosi ensemble on the Claves label. In 2021, a recording by the Aviv Quartet devoted to Schubert’s late quartets was released on the Aparté label, receiving warm critical acclaim (5 Diapasons, “Supersonic” from Pizzicato). Daniel plays a cello made by Giuseppe Rocca in 1856 and a bow by Albert Nürnberger.
Laurène DURANTEL Double bass
The double bass is an instrument that can be approached in many different ways. Laurène Helstroffer Durantel is an artist who explores the use of the double bass beyond the orchestral setting—an approach initially rooted in a classical background and later branching out towards other directions such as contemporary creation, chamber music, and a way of playing that seeks to come closer to the viol family. After studying at the CNSM de Paris, she became principal double bass of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and later took part in the founding of Ensemble 360, in residence at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield (UK). She is a member of the ensembles Calliopée, Variances, Offrandes, and TM+, which are devoted to chamber music and contemporary creation. As a chamber musician and soloist, she performs in major European venues such as Wigmore Hall, Théâtre de la Ville, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, and the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, and regularly collaborates with the Ébène Quartet, Elias String Quartet, Belcea String Quartet, Doric String Quartet, Skampa Quartet, Quatuor Modigliani, as well as artists including Valentin Erben, François Salque, Matthias Goerne, Céline Frisch, and Jean-Guihen Queyras. In 2003, she co-founded the Académie de contrebasse, which ran for ten years. In 2015, she received the Nordmetall Prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, together with the Karénine Trio and violist Krzysztof Chorzelski. She was also a laureate of the Juventus Festival in 2013. Her young audiences’ show Loop Super Loop, combining double bass, piano and voice, was presented at the Théâtre de la Ville in November 2016. Laurène is an artist supported by the strin
Léo GENET Double bass
The orchestra fascinated Léo Genet from an early age. He participated in the academies of the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, the European Union Youth Orchestra… He holds a double master's degree at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse of Lyon in the class of Bernard Cazauran then Cédric Carlier and at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the class of Olivier Thiery and Rick Stotijn. The complementarity of the aesthetics learned during his studies allowed him to enrich and deepens his instrumental expression. After a year spent at the academy of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Amsterdam opera orchestra, he joined the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in 2017 and then the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2018. Substitute within the main French and Dutch orchestras, regular guest of Ivan Fischer's Budapest Festival Orchestra and Teodor Currentzis's Utopia Orchestra, Léo also enjoys playing in smaller ensembles (Seiji Ozawa International Quartet Academy, Musique en Ré festival, among other personal projects), which allow him to explore a wide variety of musical styles. Teaching is an important part of his musical journey. Since 2020, he has been a mentor at the Concertgebouw Orchestra Young Academy and gives numerous private lessons of orchestra auditions preparation. In addition to temporary substitute teaching positions at the conservatories of Amsterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague, Léo founded a double bass academy in his native village of the Bugey, France, with the double bass player Théotime Voisin in 2022 and 2023. A member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's instrumental commission, and passionate about bows and instruments craftmanship, he practices woodworking in his spare time. Léo plays a double bass on loan from the Concertgebouw Orchestra Foundation, built in London by Bernard Simon Fendt II around 1840.
