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Following on from our successful set-up course earlier in the year, the BVMA presents a further look at the set-up and sound adjustment of instruments, led by Catherine Janssens and Damien Sainmont.

This more advanced sound optimisation course is aimed at those wishing to develop their understanding of sound and sound adjustment; participants will have the opportunity to bring along an instrument that requires work on its sound. Discussion will centre around assessment of the instruments on different aspects such sound, form and comfort of playing; as well as how to listen to and describe the sound of an instrument, the ethics of the luthier’s work and player psychology.

Participants should arrange to bring:
- an instrument which requires work on an aspect of sound (violin, viola or cello);
- their tools for the required work;
- bridges, soundposts, strings or other materials that will be needed, with enough to try out different models and shapes;
- equipment required for playing their instrument – (bow, chin rest, shoulder rest).

The course will run from the 11th to the 16th of December with spaces for 10 participants. The cost of the course will be in the range of £700 and £800 depending on accommodation chosen. This will include teaching, accommodation and food.

About the Tutors

After graduating from the Newark School of Violin Making in 2004, Catherine Janssens set up her workshop in Brussels in 2005, and was a principle figure in the founding of Atelier Flagey in 2009. She continued to further her training by attending workshops and seminars covering a range of subjects, and as a trained violinist has a strong interest in sound of both modern and baroque instruments. In 2015 she won an award from the “Plateforme pour l’Education et le Talent” by the Roi Baudouin Foundation for her research into the acoustic principles of the violin family.

Damien Sainmont graduated from Newark in 2004 and went on to work in the workshops of Florian Leonhard in London, Pierre Mastrangelo in Lausanne and Kogge Gateau in Berlin. In 2015 he opened his workshop in Lausanne, where he divides his time between restoration, and set-up and sound adjustment. He recognises the value of working in collaboration with colleagues, as well as with musicians to better understand and implement the principles of sound-adjustment.