Gregg T. Alf (born 1957 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

) is a prominent contemporary American

violin maker A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

based in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Alf made his first

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

in 1975. Later, he spent eight years in

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he graduated from the International Violin Making School and established a growing reputation for his work. In 1984 Gregg returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and together with

Joseph Curtin Joseph Curtin is an American contemporary violinmaker who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is recognised as one of the world's greatest violinmakers. He was a 2005 recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Program "genius grant". He has also directed wo ...

, founded the violin-making studios of

Curtin & Alf Curtin may refer to: Places * Curtin, Australian Capital Territory *Curtin, Oregon, U.S. *Curtin Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, U.S. *Curtin, Nicholas County, West Virginia, U.S. *Curtin, Webster County, West Virginia, U.S. *RAAF Base Curti ...

. His partnership with Joseph Curtin attracted the attention of numerous stars of the violin world, including Elmar Oliveira, Ruggiero Ricci, and Zvi Zeitlin. In 1993 a Curtin and Alf violin made for Oliveira set a record at a Sotheby's auction for the highest price paid for a violin by a living maker. In 1997 he opened Alf Studios at the same location in Ann Arbor. Replicas of classic Italian instruments formed the basis of his early work. But, Gregg also uses science and technology to better understand the acoustical foundations of his craft. Since 1996 he has been a member and facilitator of the

Oberlin Summer Violin Making Workshops Oberlin may refer to: ; Places in the United States * Oberlin Township, Decatur County, Kansas ** Oberlin, Kansas, a city in the township * Oberlin, Louisiana, a town * Oberlin, Ohio, a city * Oberlin, Licking County, Ohio, a ghost town * Oberlin, ...

. In recent years he has become a recognized expert on the acoustical properties of violins. He has also received numerous awards from the Violin Society of America for his work.Competition

References

External links

* American musical instrument makers American luthiers Bowed string instrument makers People from Ann Arbor, Michigan Living people 1957 births {{US-music-bio-stub