Violins made with love

Libby Summers’s Brazenose Violins range of affordable instruments combine quality and craftsmanship, designed to meet the highest standards. Interview by Kate Chapman.

Luthier and violinist Libby Summers has unveiled a range of handmade instruments to fill the gap between generic student models and bespoke artisan designs, so high-quality pieces are available to more musicians.

The Brazenose Violins range features handmade violins, violas and cellos which have been handcrafted in Europe from premium tonewood and maple, before being finished off by Libby and a small team of highly skilled luthiers at her workshop at Stamford Strings, in High Street St Martins.

Libby, who graduated from the prestigious Newark School of Violin Making in 2020, aspired to develop a series of stringed instruments that combine tonal excellence and exquisite craftsmanship at a more affordable price range.

She says excellent instruments should be meaningful and available to everyone, rather than a select few and explains the idea for the venture came in response to demands from her customers, many of whom are gifted students advancing to conservatoire level training.

“My clients and students wanted instruments that were more personal and responsive than the standard, mass-produced models, but without having to commit to a fully bespoke price tag,” explains Libby, who founded Stamford Strings in 2019.

“The Brazenose Violins range was born out of that challenge: to make instruments that are beautiful and high performing, yet affordable for serious players.

“It was also really important to me to source the materials and crafting of the instruments exclusively from Europe, using fully traceable, properly seasoned wood.”

Positive feedback
Libby takes a ‘forest to stage’ approach to lutherie, producing instruments that enable musicians to play with care, accuracy and unique musicality.

The range takes its name from Brazenose Lane and Brazenose Gate, located a stone’s throw away from Libby’s original shop on St Leonards, and prices start from £2,975 for a piece finished with high-end fittings.

Libby says the early response from musicians has been overwhelmingly positive and adds: “The next generation of string players is showing incredible talent, but access to really responsive, excellently constructed instruments from trustworthy sources remains a challenge.

“Brazenose Violins is my response to that challenge: a brand that respects the highest standards of craftsmanship while allowing more musicians to participate with reasonable price points.”

Early talent
Libby, who grew up in Stamford and attended Stamford High School, began playing piano when she was five. She took up the violin at 11 when she started with group lessons at secondary school.

Libby recalls: “My grandfather was a keen amateur musician and had a lovely violin which he bought for my dad. He wasn’t particularly interested in playing it, so eventually it was given to me.

“It wasn’t until much later that I realised the quality of that instrument. That was really the start of my love affair with the violin.”

Libby was keen to pursue a musical career but was encouraged to take a more academic route. She gained a degree in social anthropology from the University of St Andrew’s and a scholarship to continue with her musical development. After graduating she worked in her degree field but carried on teaching and playing the violin.

When her three daughters came along, she refocussed, running a successful knitwear business from around 2006, after turning her hobby into a profitable enterprise, which included supplying pieces to John Lewis.

She took a step back when one of her daughters became ill and on her return to work found things had changed, as the craft marketplace had become overcrowded.

“It was time to do something different. I had the idea of combining my interest in music with my interest in craft,” says Libby.

“The Newark School of Violin Making was not far away. I visited and instantly fell in love with the smell of wood.

“I applied, not having done any woodwork before and was accepted onto the FE diploma course after demonstrating my other business skills and showing them that I was a serious, mature person who really wanted to make a career of this.

“It was definitely very challenging, but I’m always up for a challenge. I really enjoyed working with the wood and practising my skills.”

Training and development
Libby worked full-time while completing the four-year course and launched her own business, working from home, the year before her graduation. She found herself frequently being asked to help with instrument repairs and restoration, as the only other person in the area offering the service had retired.

The move proved beneficial as Libby was able to take the instruments into college and seek her tutor’s advice.

“When I left college I wasn’t exactly sure which direction to take. I had to stay in Stamford, as one of my daughters was still at school, rather than take a post in one of the European workshops like some of my peers,” Libby explains.

“I bought some antique violins and spread myself around with all different types of interests. I tried to cover all bases doing repairs, restoration, just to see what the market was like, what worked well and what people wanted.

“From that experience and meeting musicians, talking to them, I began to find out what they were looking for – and that’s really where the Brazenose Violins idea came in, as lots of people were asking for violins at a price point that didn’t really exist.”

Thanks to a contact at a workshop, Libby began selling quality pieces made on the continent, after finishing them off in her workshop by adding components including fingerboard, pegs, and peg boxes.

She’s now in the process of getting more UK shops to stock the range and also hosted two concerts in Stamford earlier this summer featuring Brazenose instruments alongside accomplished musicians including award-winning cellist Michael Petrov.

“The economy is up and down, we’re all affected by that, particularly this year, as it’s been a bit challenging with things like VAT on private schools and the changes to NI for smaller businesses, but in a way that’s even more reason for us to keep doing this,” says Libby.

“People cannot afford really top end, handmade instruments, made in the UK by just one person so this is our response to that.”

As well as stocking Brazenose Violins, Stamford Strings showcases a curated range of new and antique violins, violas and cellos. It offers full restoration, repair and conservation services as well as a wide selection of bows, cases and accessories.

For more information visit www.brazenoseviolins.co.uk

Photographs: Michael Crawford – Copyright Libby Summers / Stamford Strings

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