Violin Making for Children

Violin Making for Children

Felix Appelbe has supported small initiatives helping young people access music education where opportunities might otherwise be limited.

In Suffolk, he provided seed funding to support after-school violin and cello lessons for children aged 4–16 whose families could not easily afford private tuition. The programme was led by a local music teacher who had been voluntarily giving extra lessons in her own time.

Through this project Felix later connected the students with Professor Robert Brewer Young of J&A Beare. Professor Brewer Young had developed a high-quality “kit violin” that allows students to build their own instrument while learning about the craft of violin making.

His small team travelled to Suffolk to work with the children, demonstrating how violins are made and inspiring the students through the craftsmanship behind the instrument.

For Felix, projects like this reflect a simple idea: when people from different fields — education, craftsmanship and music — come together, the result can create opportunities far beyond the original intention.