2014 G.A.L. Convention |
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|Group Photo|Schedule|Presenters Bio|Presenters|Exhibition |
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Past GAL Convention lecturer and American Lutherie contributor Kevin Aram lives and works with his wife Alison in lovely rural North Devon, England. His fine traditional classical guitars find homes all over the globe. For fun, he enjoys restoring old Land Rovers and making music with his friends. aramguitars.co.uk/ Thursday, July 24, 1:00pm – Workshop: Oil Finishing the Classical Guitar |
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Nathan Ching has been a member since 1992. He came to lutherie later in life after suffering a serious injury as a carpenter. On a vacation in California he met famed luthier Ervin Somogyi by showing up at his shop unannounced. Ervin discouraged Nathan from pursuing a life in lutherie, saying he'd be poor if he did. But that was enough to pump up his contrarian spirit; since then he has built over sixty guitars and ukes, and repaired thousands.
Saturday, July 26, 10:30am – Workshop: Ukulele Listening Session |
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Repairman and working musician, Erick Coleman has been tinkering with guitars since the early 80’s. He operates his own repair shop in Southeastern Ohio and has been the Technical Advisor for Stewart-MacDonald for over a decade. He co-authored their how-to guide, Fretwork Step By Step, as well as numerous “Trade Secrets” articles. Erick also performs and records regularly with his band The D-Rays. www.guitarrepairman.com/ Thursday, July 24, 1:00pm – Workshop: Make Bread at Bread & Butter Repair: Techniques for Efficiency |
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Mandolin Magazine columnist, Fine Woodworking author, regular AL contributor, and a GAL member for a total of fourteen years, James Condino has been building instruments for over thirty years. He’s also a serious outdoorsman who guides whitewater expeditions and takes fine guitars and mandolins to volcanic summits. jazzmando.com/field_testing.shtml condino.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Carving and Refining the Modern Archtop Soundboard |
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Michael DaSilva makes high-quality, handcrafted ukuleles in Berkeley, California. After falling in love with all things ukulele, he escaped the high-tech business world and began building instruments in 2004 and has built over 350 instruments to date. He continues to single-handedly build 4-5 instruments a month for ukulele enthusiasts around the globe. Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Contemporary Ukulele Making Presenters: Michael DaSilva, Bob Gleason, Jay Lichty, and Woodley White. Friday, July 25, 8:30am – Panel: Ukulele Building: Tradition and Trends Participants: Michael DaSilva, Bob Gleason, Jay Lichty. Moderator: Woodley White. |
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After sixteen years of full-time guitar making, twenty-two-year Guild member Mike Doolin has retired from professional lutherie to play music full time. This doesn’t mean he has quit building guitars, it just means now he gets to keep them all. www.doolinguitars.com/ Thursday, July 24, 10:30am – Workshop: Steel String Guitar Listening Session |
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Thirty-eight-year member Jeffrey R. Elliott has frequently contributed both to American Lutherie and GAL Conventions. When he’s not building guitars, he can be found constructing Legos condos with his grandkids, tracking the Hubble, or listening to music of all sorts. www.elliottguitars.com/ Friday, July 25, 10:30am – Workshop: Classical Guitar Listening Session |
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Harry Fleishman has been designing unique acoustic and electric guitars and basses for over 40 years, starting with an electric upright bass in 1969. Jim Roberts, editor of Bass Player Magazine, called Harry “the Thomas Edison of luthiers.” In addition to his custom guitar making he has designed for Fender, Jackson, Hondo, Avian, and most recently Breedlove, as well as other smaller companies. Harry pioneered many of the innovations that are now seen on guitars around the world, and continues to develop designs that offer new voices, functions, and aesthetics for modern musicians. As the former director of the American School of Lutherie, he has lectured on topics related to lutherie at several GAL conventions, as well as in Italy, China, Australia, and Texas. Friday, July 25, , 1:00pm – Workshop: Designing for Tone, Playability, and Aesthetics |
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Charles Fox has been active in the development of modern lutherie for 45 years as an artisan, designer, consultant and educator. His original design concepts, building techniques, and production devices are used by guitar builders and factories all over the world. Charles and his wife and business partner Denise live in Portland, OR, where Charles builds guitars and teaches at his American School of Lutherie. www.ergoguitars.com/ www.americanschooloflutherie.com/ Saturday, July 26, 8:30am – Lecture: Guitar is a Verb: Innovating Our Way From a Traditional Craft Toward a Contemporary Art Form |
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Bryan Galloup began his Luthier career with world famous guitar builder and repairman Dan Erlewine in the early eighties. Together they pioneered lutherie techniques and tools used in the business today. Over the past 20 years, Bryan has become one of the country's premier repair and restoration specialists. He has also created the Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair. His restoration methods have been featured in numerous magazines, books, and videos. Bryan has taken the knowledge acquired from years of restoring collectable guitars and created his own unique instruments based on traditional building principles. Galloup Guitars is now Bryan's full time passion. Friday, July 25, 10:30am – Workshop: Developing Your Sound |
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Alex Glasser repairs guitars. After years of working with Jeff Traugott and at Gryphon Stringed Instruments, he opened his own shop in New York called Iron Horse Instruments. It is a full-service repair shop specializing in vintage restoration. Once and a while he may even have time to build a uke or a guitar! www.ironhorseinstruments.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Tales from the Soundhole: Adventures in Acoustic Guitar Repair and Restoration |
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Bob Gleason lives in Hawaii on Hawaii island and has been making string instruments for 43 years. www.pegasusguitars.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Contemporary Ukulele Making |
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Evan Gluck has been repairing guitars since the early eighties. This year he is celebrating the 10th
anniversary of opening his own repair shop New York Guitar Repair. Since he opened he has become one of the most in demand repair people for musicians of all levels in NYC. newyorkguitarrepair.com/ Thursday, July 24, 1:00pm – Workshop: Make Bread at Bread & Butter Repair: Techniques for Efficiency Friday, July 25, 1:00pm – Workshop: The Business of Doing Business |
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Eron Harding is the co-owner of the vintage guitar store "Backwoods Guitar LLC" in Sedalia, Missouri. He specializes in vintage guitar repairs and restorations. He has been in the field for approximately 8 years. His background does not contain any formal luthier schooling, but real world experience, studying of internet postings and repair manuals, as well as input from a few close friends in the field. Thursday, July 24, 1:00pm – Workshop: Make Bread at Bread & Butter Repair: Techniques for Efficiency Presenters: Erick Coleman, Evan Gluck and Eron Harding. |
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Owner and Instructor of Summit School of Guitar Building and Repair Inc. since 1994. Sigmund Johannessen is also the owner of Summit Guitars where he builds custom hand carved arch top guitars. www.summitguitars.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Introduction to CNC for Small and Intermediate Shops Presenters: Sigmund Johannessen and Chris Klumper. |
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Twelve-year GAL member David King grew up in a musical family where rock was taboo. Now he makes and plays electric basses. www.kingbass.com/ Saturday, July 26, 10:30am – Workshop: Mastering Pickups and Truss Rods with Simple Physics Presenters: David King and Veronica Merryfield |
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Owner and Founder of Luthiertool Company LLC, Chris Klumper has made tools for the Guitar Building Industry for the past 10 years. With his production engineering background, he continues to push the envelope and apply new technologies. Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Introduction to CNC for Small and Intermediate Shops Presenters: Sigmund Johannessen and Chris Klumper. |
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Working out of his shop in the foothills of Western North Carolina Jay Lichty builds custom guitars and ukuleles. He also offers guitar and ukulele building workshops. Lichty's guitars and ukuleles are enjoyed by players around the world. lichtyguitars.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Contemporary Ukulele Making Presenters: Michael DaSilva, Bob Gleason, Jay Lichty, and Woodley White. Friday, July 25, 8:30am – Panel: Ukulele Building: Tradition and Trends Participants: Michael DaSilva, Bob Gleason, Jay Lichty. Moderator: Woodley White. |
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After completing a Bachelors Of Music from Naropa University in 1990, Stephen Marchione began his career as a professional luthier working for the esteemed Pensa-Suhr workshop on 48th Street in Manhattan; followed by the founding of his Marchione Guitars Studio in 1993. Stephen specializes in designing and crafting a wide variety of stringed instruments. www.marchione.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Carving and Refining the Modern Archtop Soundboard Presenters: James Condino and Stephen Marchione. Thursday, July 24, 10:30am – Workshop: Traditional Lutherie Techniques for Violin and Guitar Making Presenters: Stephen Marchione and Charles Rufino. |
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From the UK and now on the Canada's wet coast, Veronica Merryfield made her first headless fretless bass at age seventeen and just kept going. These days she builds to commission, preferring unusual designs that solve playability issues for players with physical limitations or making basses. Veronica has a day job in electronics and software to subsidize her lutherie habit. Saturday, July 26, 10:30am – Workshop: Mastering Pickups and Truss Rods with Simple Physics Presenters: David King and Veronica Merryfield. |
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Brian Michael started repairing instruments at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in 2002 and still loves it today. He makes custom electric guitars under the name Michael Guitars, and plays guitar in San Jose band Careless Hearts. www.gryphonstrings.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Tales from the Soundhole: Adventures in Acoustic Guitar Repair and Restoration Presenters: Alex Glasser and Brian Michaels. |
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Ten-year GAL member Andrew Mowry gained his love of wood while roaming the forests of southern Vermont as a youth. Although his formal education is in geology and geography, he has been a full-time luthier since 2004, building mostly mandolin-family instruments. www.mowrystrings.com/ Thursday, July 24, 1:00pm – Workshop: Constructing and Voicing the Modern Mandolin: Two Approaches Presenters: James Condino and Andrew Mowry. |
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Alan Perlman has built and restored guitars for 40 years. While always enjoying building a six string classical or steel string, he has become well known for his 11 string guitars, 19 string baroque and classical style harp guitars and the love of a good challenge, be it in the creation of a new design or a difficult restoration of a client’s prized old Martin or Torres. He is currently the featured (living) luthier in the Harris Guitar Foundation’s collection at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Sunday, July 27, 10:30am – Lecture: Considerations in Replicating Vintage Guitars |
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Charles Rufino, born in New York in 1952, has been immersed in the art of the violin maker since 1974. His apprenticeship at the Newark School of Violin Making in Nottinghamshire, England included visits to the London shops of J&A Beare and W.E. Hill & Sons, and his later studies were under V.Y. “Nigo” Nigogosian of New York, and Carl Becker of Chicago. In 1984 he opened his studio in Huntington, New York making violins, violas and cellos. Soon after he established The Long Island Violin Shop to share his expertise with string teachers and their students. In 1998 he opened a studio in Manhattan to better serve his professional clientele. In 1986 he assisted Nigo Nigogosian in establishing the Oberlin Restoration Workshop and in 1991 he was one of a small group selected for advanced study at the Smithsonian Institution Conservation Laboratories. In 2007 he was asked by Yamaha to consult in the development of a new student violin which will be on the market in the near future. Mr. Rufino has been a full member of the American Federation of Violin Makers (afvbm.com) since 1989 and the International Society of Violin and Bow Makers (eila.org) since 1994, among numerous professional affiliations. Like Bach, he enjoys playing the viola in several community orchestras so that he can be "in the middle of the harmony. |
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Dr. James Westbrook is a British-based organologist whose particular interest is in guitar construction. He is the author of two popular books: Guitars through the Ages (2002) and The Century that Shaped the Guitar (2006) as well as co-author of The Complete Illustrated book of the Acoustic Guitar (2012). He has given papers for The Classical Guitar Festival of Great Britain, European Guitar Teachers Association, The American Musical Instrument Society and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. James has recently published in Early Music, The Journal of the Lute Society and the Soundboard Journal and contributed a chapter in Inventing the American Guitar: The Pre-civil War Innovations of C. F. Martin and his Contemporaries. In 2010 James was awarded the O’May studentship, for his Doctoral research in to Guitar Making in Nineteenth-Century London at the University of Cambridge. He is a consultant and specialist for Brompton’s a London auction house, specializing in musical instruments, as well as a part-time luthier and restorer. James is currently a member of the Research staff at The University of Cambridge, Music Faculty, and he holds a Wolfson College, Cambridge, Research Fellowship; investigating ‘The Life and Work of David Rubio’. www.theguitarmuseum.com/ Thursday, July 24, 8:30am – Lecture: David “Jose” Rubio in America Friday, July 25, 1:00pm – Workshop: The London-Made “Melophonic” Guitar |
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Woodley White has been building guitars for 22 years. He has built nearly 150 instruments, mostly classical guitars in the Hauser/Torres tradition but some acoustic steel string and electric as well. Since moving to Hawaii in 2007 he started building Harp Guitars and Ukuleles – the big and the small. He adores Hawaii, the Hawaiian people and culture and his goal is to find an alluring melodic tone and feed his drive for creativity and aloha. www.whiteguitars.com/ Wednesday, July 23, 2:30pm – Workshop: Contemporary Ukulele Making Presenters: Michael DaSilva, Bob Gleason, Jay Lichty, and Woodley White. Friday, July 25, 8:30am – Panel: Ukulele Building: Tradition and Trends Participants: Michael DaSilva, Bob Gleason, Jay Lichty. Moderator: Woodley White. |
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