Robert Brewer Young
Robert Brewer Young
Robert Brewer Young
Background information
Born1967
Seattle
Occupation(s)Luthier, Lecturer in Philosophy
Instrument(s)Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrebass, Viola da Gamba

Robert Brewer Young (born 1967) is a contemporary cello, viola and violin maker. He received traditional French training in the violinmaking studios above Carnegie Hall, closely studying and listening to the instruments of Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati, Gofriller, Guadagnini and other classical Italian luthiers.[1] Young is now devoted to creating signature instruments in the spirit of these visionaries. As a part of a select group of makers, museum specialists and acousticians he is at the forefront of using 21st-century science to practice and advance 17th-century methods of violinmaking. He uses traditional techniques and Renaissance geometrical methods to recreate the elemental harmonic properties of classical Italian instruments.[2]

Young is currently based in London.

Education

Young earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute, where he studied under Ansel Adams’ long time assistant, Pirkle Jones. He earned a master's degree in philosophy from The New School for Social Research in New York City, studying with Jacques Derrida for three years. He then earned an M.Phil. from City University of New York, doing work in the philosophy of logic and mathematics advised by Graham Priest and Saul Kripke.[3]

Young is currently doing doctoral work in philosophical logic and early Greek mathematics and is on the faculty at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fe, Switzerland as a lecturer in philosophy.

Work

Young makes instruments for established and aspiring soloists, and does museum-level instrument restoration and conservation. Clients include: musicians from The Kirov Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic, Harvard University, the Opera National de Paris, the Stockholm Philharmonic, the Barcelona Symphony and numerous soloists. He is also archivist for the Oberlin College group of violinmakers [4] and a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers.[5]

Charitable work

Since the early 1990s, Young has provided violins, violas, and cellos for charitable organizations including El Sistema programs, the New York City public school system, and schools for the blind in New York and Calcutta.[6] He also repaired instruments for Roberta Guaspari of the Harlem School for Strings, played by Meryl Streep in the film Music of the Heart.[7] Young provided instruments for established violin programs in indigenous southwest United States communities, and secured instruments, strings, and supplies for musicians during the Siege of Sarajevo[8]

In 2014, Young co-founded The Open String,[9] a non-profit organization that supports musicians in need by donating quality stringed instruments to teachers and students so that they can succeed in the growing music education movement [10]

References

  1. ↑ Lloyd, Christian (August 2014). "Meet Your Maker". The Strad. Essex, United Kingdom.
  2. ↑ Evans, Debbi (28 August 2015). "Making Mr. Cello". Libertine. London, England. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "About the Maker". The Guadagnini Quartet. 2014. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Olwell, Greg (5 May 2015). "A Special Quartet for a Special Mission". Strings Magazine. Big Sandy, TX. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers Profile: Robert Brewer Young". American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Axelrod, Jim (26 April 2016). "Man falls into cello repair work and changes lives". CBS News. New York, NY. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Freymann, Jeffrey (7 December 2015). "The State of The Arts featuring Robert Brewer Young". KDFC Radio and Podcast. San Francisco, CA. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Bryan Miller, Sarah (28 August 2015). "A saga of lost violins, from Barcelona to (finally) St. Louis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, MO. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Fancher, Lou (1 December 2015). "The Open String: Donating Instruments Where They're Most Needed". San Francisco Classical Voice. San Francisco, CA. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Robertson, Phoebe (3 December 2015). "Introducing Open Strings With Open Arms". MixDown Magazine. Victoria, Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
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