Thomas Meuwissen
Thomas Meuwissen (Leuven, 25 March 1966) is a Belgian violinmaker. Since 1987 he has been working exclusively on the production of modern and baroque violins, violas and cellos. His work includes antiqued copies of instruments by old Italian masters (Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù, Matteo Goffriller amongst others). His many years of experience as violin maker, enable him to make effective adjustments to the sound of clients’ instruments.[1]
Biography
After a Fine Arts art education, Thomas Meuwissen was trained as violin maker at the British Newark School of Violin Making. He perfected his skills in the workshops of Premysl Špidlen in Praag and Fréderic Chaudière in Montpellier. He now lives and works in Brussels and has been the ‘violin-maker in residence’ at the Royal Conservatory since 1993. His instruments are in the hands of orchestra members and soloists, His work is held in several private and public collections: Royal Conservatory Brussels (Belgium),[2] The Beckett Collection (U.K.),[3] Muziekinstrumentenfonds (Netherlands)[4] and Dextra Musica (Norway).
In 2006 Thomas Meuwissen was elected to the ‘Entente Internationale des Maîtres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art’.[5]
Rewards
Thomas Meuwissen was awarded at various international violin making competitions:
- Concours de lutherie et d’archèterie de Paris (Brons, 1999)
- Concorso Antonio Stradivarius, Cremona (Distinction, 2002)[6]
- British Violin Making Association Competition, Londen (Honorary mention, 2004)
- Violin Society of America Competition (Certificate of Merit for workmanship, 2004)[7]
- Internationaler Geigenbauwettbewerb Mittenwald (Zilver, 2005)
- Strad Cello and Bow Making Competition, Manchester (Zilver, 2007)
- Violin Society of America Competition (Certificate of Merit for sound, 2008)
References
- ↑ "Thomas Meuwissen: instruments that inspire" by Eric Chapman in "Journal of the American Viola Society - 2008, volume 25, number 1: p.49 - 52."
- ↑ Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel
- ↑ The Beckett Collection
- ↑ Muziekinstrumentenfonds
- ↑ ‘Entente Internationale des maîtres luthiers et archetiers d’art’
- ↑ Concorso Antonio Stradivarius
- ↑ Violin Society of America Competition