Robert Brewer Young (born 1967) is a contemporary cello, viola and violin maker. He received traditional French training in the violinmaking studios above

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, caring for and listening to the instruments of Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati,

Gofriller Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the "Venetian School (music), Venetian School" of luthiers, durin ...

, Guadagnini and other classical Italian luthiers. Young is now devoted to creating signature instruments in the spirit of these visionaries. As a part of a select group of makers, museum specialists and acousticians he is at the forefront of using 21st-century science to practice and advance 17th-century methods of violinmaking. He additionally uses traditional techniques and Renaissance geometrical methods to recreate the elemental harmonic properties of classical Italian instruments. He is a director at J&A Beare and the head of the Department of Scientific Research and Conservation. Young has studios in London, Cremona and San Francisco.

Education

Young earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

, where he studied under

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...

’ long time assistant, Pirkle Jones. He earned a master's degree in philosophy from The New School for Social Research in New York City, studying with

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed t ...

for three years. He then earned an M.Phil. from

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

, doing work in the philosophy of logic and mathematics advised by Graham Priest and Saul Kripke. Young is a professor of philosophy at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fe, Switzerland and the co-director of EGS's Research Institute for Music and Philosophy. He is a visiting scholar at Oxford University.

Work

Young makes instruments for established and aspiring soloists, and does museum-level instrument restoration and conservation. Clients include: musicians from the New York Philharmonic, the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

, the Berlin Philharmonic, Harvard University, the

Opera National de Paris Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

, the

Stockholm Philharmonic The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( sv, Kungliga Filharmonikerna or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. His ...

, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Barcelona Symphony and numerous international soloists. He is the archivist for the

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

group of violinmakers and for W.E. Hill & Sons and a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers.

Charitable work

Since the early 1990s, Young has provided violins, violas, and cellos for charitable organizations including El Sistema programs, the New York City public school system, and schools for the blind in New York and Calcutta. He also repaired instruments for

Roberta Guaspari Roberta Guaspari (born September 15, 1947) is an American violinist and music educator. She is known for her work in Harlem, New York, where she taught during the 1980s and 1990s to keep music alive in inner-city schools. She was portrayed on fil ...

of the Harlem School for Strings, played by Meryl Streep in the film Music of the Heart. Young provided instruments for established violin programs in indigenous southwest United States communities, and secured instruments, strings, and supplies for musicians during the Siege of Sarajevo In 2014, Young co-founded The Open String, a non-profit organization that supports musicians in need by donating quality stringed instruments to teachers and students so that they can succeed in the growing music education movement

References

External links

About Robert Brewer Young
Robert Brewer Young's website
About The Open String Foundation
The Open String Foundation's website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Robert Brewer American luthiers Businesspeople from Seattle Living people 1967 births