An instrument maker who teaches at the School of Musical Instruments Crafts, Newark College, has been recognised at the 50th Violin Society of America Convention in Indianapolis.
John Wright, who teaches and coordinates on the Level 6 BA (Hons) Musical Instrument Crafts (Violin Making and Repair) degree, gave an inspired industry talk at the week-long international event, and took home the Certificate of Merit for Tone for Violin, as well as the same certificate for Cello.
John explains: “From more than 500 international entries, there were only 11 Certificates of Merit in the Violin category awarded and just eight in the Cello category.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have been recognised in both of these fields. As a working violinist as well as a maker, how an instrument sounds has always been my priority.
John’s talk, ‘Training Tomorrow’s Makers: Are We Adapting Fast Enough?’ discussed teaching violin making and made several points, including looking at changes in society over recent generations; how that now offers a different student mindset and how those teaching instrument crafts could best adjust as educators to maintain an output of excellence.
John also spent time looking at methods already employed in his lectures at Newark School of Violin Making (NSVM) for these changes.
John added: “The area that I most enjoyed sharing ideas on, was the idea of employing divergent thinking in the classroom.
“It is a real joy for me to identify methods that isolate complex problems; frame them in a scenario that has a less anxious context for the student away from their instruments and allows for visual expansion of the issue.
“In my experience it always offers more clarity and deeper understanding. This also allowed me to talk about monitoring the connection of our self-worth to our work as well as offering more equity to those from backgrounds less prepared for a career in fine practical work.
“The talk was warmly received by the convention and sparked much conversation from attendees. I was congratulated for engaging with these ideas and have also received several letters of thanks from those who share similar thoughts on the subject matter.
“It was apparent that there is a fondness globally for our school’s reputation in the industry. I was also enthused by the real interest in our intentions to ensure we are using the most effective and up to date methods, to further what is an often traditional and conservative discipline.”
