About the maker
JJan Strumphler was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands in 1958. From 1984 to 1987 he trained at the Newark School of Violinmaking in England. After qualifying as a violinmaker, he then went to work for the well-known bow maker Matthew Coltman in London. He returned to the Netherlands in 1989 and set up as a bow maker in Vleuten, Utrecht. Besides making new bows, he also does repair and restoration work. He has been secretary of the Dutch Group of Violin- and Bow makers (NGV) since 1997.
He is not the first Strumphler who earns his living with a combination of music and craft. The first Strumphler who came to the Netherlands, at the end of the eighteenth century, was the well-known organ builder Johannes Strumphler. His organs are still to be found in churches and homes all over the Netherlands, and are still being played, for instance in the Eusebius Church in Arnhem and the Geertekerk in Utrecht.
The media about Jan Strumphler
Over the last years, several media have published articles on Jan Strumphler:
- Article De Brug (weekly regional paper), 21 November 2001
- Article Trouw (national daily newspaper), 26 June 2002:“Secuur werk” (‘Meticulous job’)
- Article De Volkskrant (national daily newspaper), 3 March 2005: “De stok wordt sexy” (‘The bow is becoming sexy’)
- Article Vivant, winter 2005: “Gevoelige snaar” (‘Heart strings’)
Also, the book 400 year violinmaking in the Netherlands, that was published on occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Dutch Group of Violin- and Bow making in 1999, includes an interview with Jan Strumphler and photographs of several of his bows. The book is out of print, but Jan still has several copies available.
