16 3/4" David Wiebe viola, Woodstock, NY 2016

American violin maker David Wiebe is one of the most celebrated makers working today. Born in Nebraska to a family passionate about music and woodworking, he became interested in violin making at an early age. After studying double bass performance at the University of Missouri, Wiebe moved to Germany to study lutherie at the Mittenwald School of Violin Making.

Wiebe returned to the United States to establish his own business in David City, Nebraska, where he worked prolifically for over 24 years. He has participated in numerous sessions of the Violin Society of America’s Violin Making Workshops at Oberlin College, where he met his wife, bow maker Susan Lipkins. In 2002, the couple moved their workshop to Woodstock, New York, where Wiebe currently builds violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.

Wiebe’s instruments have won top honors in international competitions including Gold Medals for Workmanship and Tone at the 1975 and 1976 Violin Society of America competitions, and they are owned by some of the most distinguished soloists and orchestra principals in the world. His clients have included violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Michael Tree, violists Peter Keynote and William Primrose, and cellists Zara Nelsova, Leonard Rose, and Colin Carr, among numerous others.