Meet the Repair Workshop Staff

The members of the Givens Violins workshop are highly skilled and experienced. They are passionate and proud of their work. The shop's loyal customer base and frequent referrals testify to the high quality and consistency of their work. The care and attention they offer customers and their instruments is exemplary. From the most common to the rare, Givens Violins' workshop can address any instrument and bow need.

	*Douglas Lay* - Instrument Restorer Mr. Lay has been with Givens Violins since 1986. He graduated from the Violin Making School of America and worked for Peter Paul Prier, Inc. for several years, serving the last two of those years as foreman of the workshop. In 1986, the year he joined Givens Violins, one of his violins won a certificate for tone at the Violin Society of America's International Competition in Portland, Oregon. His extensive knowledge of stringed instrument making and restoration is founded upon hands-on experience.
	*Theodora Wynhoff* - Instrument Restorer Ms. Wynhoff worked for Givens Violins from 1993 to 1998 after her apprenticeship with Bernhard Zanders in Monchengladbach and attending the Bavarian State School of Violin Making in Mittenwald. In 1998 she returned to Germany where she performed bow and instrument restoration for Geigenbau Winterling in Hamburg. Theodora rejoined the Givens Violins staff in May, 2001.
	*Frank Davis* - Instrument Restorer Mr. Davis, a graduate of the Violin Making School of America, established his own workshop in 1981. After working independently for a number of years, he joined Givens Violins in January of 1997. Frank is a fine cellist and an active maker whose instruments are always in demand.
	*J.E. Vierow* - Bow & Instrument Restorer Mr. Vierow, Violin and Bow Restorer, graduated from the Violin Making School of America in 1983. He worked for Peter Paul Prier, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, doing bow work for approximately 4 years. He worked at Geigenbau Machold in Bremen, Germany, for 5-1/2 years as a bow and instrument restorer. Since March 1991, he has been working at Claire Givens Violins as a bow and instrument restorer. He is responsible for doing all of the customer bow work, restorations and repairs of inventory bows, as well as their maintenance.
	*Charlotte Holmes* - Workshop Assistant Minneapolis native Charlotte Holmes is a graduate of the Violin Repair program at Southeast Technical College in Red Wing, MN. Ms. Holmes is a versatile violinist. While in high school she was a member of MYS (Minnesota Youth Symphony). She has also played with the Kenwood Chamber Orchestra, and currently sings, plays pennywhistle and fiddles with Misplaced, a local Celtic band.