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bouwer

Basil de Visser

Basil de Visser has been working as a bow maker in his studio in downtown Amsterdam for more than thirty years. He began playing the violin at the age of 12 and later studied violin with Jaap Schröder, Jan Nicolai, and Jan Henrichs at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Jaap Schröder inspired him to take up the Baroque violin. After completing his violin studies, he continued to study with Lucy van Dael for another three years.
Workshop(s)
Toronto, 1988-1990
Amsterdam, 1990-2022
Rome, 2022-heden

From this builder

Instrument

viola bow

Basil de Visser Amsterdam , 1998
Te leen op projectbasis
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In 1988, Basil was invited to join the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto, Canada. There, he began making period bows under the guidance of Stephen Marvin, who himself had learned the craft from William Salchow in New York. Two years later, he returned to Amsterdam, where he continues to work as a bow maker and Baroque violinist.

His work as a Baroque violinist gives him the opportunity to test and refine his bows in a professional setting. In this way, Basil can combine his knowledge and skills as a bow maker with his expertise as an active performer. This ensures that he can not only reproduce the precise dimensions of authentic bows but also closely approximate their response and feel. Furthermore, Basil’s fellow musicians are an inexhaustible source of inspiration, information, and feedback. He considers it a privilege to have been able to examine many interesting, original bows used by professional musicians for his reproductions.

Given on loan