A Contemporary American Viola After Testore By Gary Vessel, 1993. 402mm or 15 3/4”

“Gary Vessel graduated from the Violin Making School of America in 1988. He then moved to Bremen, Germany and continued learning instrument repair and violin identification. Vessel worked for Rafael Carrabba after his return to the United States in 1990. He has run his own shop since 1991, currently in Modesto, California. Vessel builds violins, violas, cellos and mandolins. He has won awards from the Violin Society of America for tone and workmanship.”

This 15 3/4” or 402mm viola by Gary Vessel from 1993 is patterned after Testore and delightfully captures the spirit of its inspiration, offering a voice that is at once direct and powerful, with firm resistance, and a mellow, woody quality for an altogether very special timbre; demonstrating a carefully considered aesthetic, with a consistent character to both the antiquing of the varnish and simulated wear to the edge-work, highlighting the lustrous golden-orange varnish and the richness of the ground underneath. The purfling, apparently from willow sapling, though the back is scribed in a traditional nod to Testore’s practices. A very special viola for a musician searching for power and clarity in this size.