Claire Givens Violins has been awarded the first annual MacPhail Center for Music Duet Award. The award was given to both an individual – or couple – and an organization that has been of extraordinary service to MacPhail in the past fiscal year. This year the individual/couple award went to Kathy and Charlie Cunningham. The award was introduced to honor those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in terms of advocacy, service and giving to MacPhail. Givens Violins became MacPhail’s first corporate sponsor in 1994. Our shop is honored to receive this award and is proud to sponsor MacPhail’s excellent contributions to string education.

Andrew Dipper, Vice President of Givens Violins and President of Dipper Restorations, was invited to participate in the Faculty of the Cremona International School of Violin Making 1938-2008 exhibit at The International Violin Making School in Cremona, Italy in celebration of its 70th anniversary. He made a Viola D’Amore using the plans left by Stradivari. This is the first time that these particular planns of Stradivari have been used to make a Viola D’Amore. A very handsome catalog was produced with this exhibit in which his Stradivari model Viola Da Gamba was pictured. The exhibit ran from October 2 – October 19, 2008.