Conor Russell: Keeping the violin-making tradition alive

DURING his music lesson, a string broke on young Conor Russell’s violin. A minor setback, and a common experience of every student. What happened next set a life-long course for Russell who is now one of Ireland’s most established violinmakers, or luthiers, as they are known in the trade.

“On the way home, my dad called into Willy Hofmann’s to replace the string. I saw the workshop and I fell in love with it. As soon as I got home I wrote and asked him for an apprenticeship. It was all I ever wanted to do.”

Russell worked closely with Hofmann throughout his student days at the Cork School of Music and spent almost a decade sharing a workshop until his retirement in 1997. He joins the coterie of makers who will be exhibiting their work during the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. This year, Russell will be giving a talk on the history of violin making in Ireland.