The BVMA Bow Re-hairing and Repair course
Sunday 24 th January 2027 – Friday 29 th January 2027
Halsway Manor, Somerset https://halswaymanor.org.uk/
The BVMA is running this extremely popular bow course again in January 2027. We are delighted that Jutta Walcher and Florian Bailly will be teaching together again. There will also be guidance on the more common jobs like faces, pearl eyes and slides, lappings and stabilising the frog.
Florian will be running a short demonstration of tool sharpening on the first evening for all those interested. There are 10 places available.
This year as another exciting extra, Tim Baker and Derek Wilson will be working in the Mews workshop with 4 students making frogs and adjusters. They will be teaching their own methods which are loosely based on how they were taught at Hills but modified over the years. This is not the modern French method of making one frog at a time all by hand, instead we will be using some machines and finishing everything by hand. There are 4 places available
Here’s all the information you need to know:
Arrive 5.00pm - Sunday 24 th January 2027
End after lunch – Friday 29 th January 2027
Cost:
Single ensuite room - £1,050
Single non ensuite - £950
Shared non ensuite - £800
You will be able to register your interest for this course via a BVMA e-mail so please keep an eye on your inbox for further information on booking. If you are successful there is a £100 deposit payable in advance to secure your place.
What you will need:
Bring as many bows as you can for re-hairing plus some bows you would like to repair. Also, hand tools, bow making tools, bow hair/parts and glue. Some items can be provided if you don’t already have them.
Personal belongings for the duration of the course, there are no laundry facilities.
Here’s a list of tools available at Halsway for your information:
Bench inc. light and chair for every single participant
Bandsaw
5 clamp-on vices
Myford 7 lathe
Daylight bulbs
Who will be teaching?
Jutta Walcher
Alongside making and repairing bows, Jutta has been re-hairing professionally for more than 30 years. She provided a re-hairing service for students and professors at the RAM between 1998 and 2008 and thereafter, continued this service for the profession at Bishop’s Instruments & Bows whilst also maintaining her freelance work from her workshop in Oxford. Since 2020, she has been working solely from her Oxford base, regularly re-hairing bows for soloists and players in all of the major orchestras such as the ROH, the LPO, the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé etc. With years of experience in re-hairing bows ranging from the most basic to the most sought after, she will be able to guide students of varying abilities to the goal of re-hairing efficiently and to the highest standards.
Florian Bailly
Since 2016 Florian has worked with many London shops and dealers as a bow restorer. Interacting with dealers and auctioneers over the years, he specialises in preparation of the bows for sale and their condition reports. He is currently working in collaboration with Tarisio, from which he provides bow services in London.
Derek Wilson
Derek Wilson trained as a bowmaker and repairer at W. E. Hill & Sons. In 1985, he left Hills to set up a bow department for Peter Benedek in Munich, returning to the UK in 1991 to start his own business, first on the Isle of Wight and from 2000 in Tunbridge Wells.
Derek works part time for J&A Beare and in 2018 became a part owner and director of W. E. Hill & Sons. He has taught on bow-making and repairing courses in the UK and Canada, as well as co-authoring the bow chapter of Musical Instruments in the Ashmolean Museum (2011) with Tim Baker, and The Hill Bow Makers 1880-1962 (2016) with John Milnes.
Tim Baker
Tim Baker studied violin making at Newark before working for W E Hill and sons and then J and A Beare in London. For the first 20 years he divided his time between bow making, restoring and the study of old bows. Since 2000 he has been self employed as a bow maker based in Oxford. He has also been involved with various competitions and publications.
These days, much of his time is spent organising and participating in short courses, mostly for the BVMA.
![BVMA Course: Bow Rehairing and Bow Making [POSTPONED]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5af9b413cc8fed278df72546/1588791043022-A1G3XWCCHP60OT38XGIX/bowrehair.jpg)
