A vision by renowned Australian luthier, the late Graham Caldersmith, to see more violins made from Australian wood has been honoured by a United Kingdom craftsman through materials donated years ago.
The story began in the village of Kendall on New South Wales' Mid North Coast nearly 25 years ago.
Mr Caldersmith, a talented craftsman of stringed instruments, had offered to donate a violin — distinctly made from Australian timbers — each year as a prize for a new competition.
The Kendall National Violin Competition was born, with the Mid North Coast event growing to become one of Australia's most prestigious violin competitions.
Mr Caldersmith, who lived in the region, continued to be an annual donor of an Australian-wood violin for the Kendall competition until he passed away during 2019.
He received an Order of Australia Medal in 2016 for services to musical instrument making.
His vision for Australian-wood instruments has been kept alive by UK luthier Michal Prokop, who made a violin from wood Mr Caldersmith gave him during a visit to Australia.
A 'moving experience'
The process was guided by Kendall competition organiser and Sydney Conservatorium of Music Associate Professor of Violin Goetz Richter.
"Graham had a vision of Australian-made wood violins … and now, in a wonderful continuation of his legacy, Michal has made a violin for this year's Kendall competition from timbers that Graham gave him," he said.
Professor Richter said the pair met several years ago, when Mr Prokop was also living in NSW.
"Michal met Graham when he was living in Taree and Graham introduced him to this way of making violins, and gave him some of his timbers," he said.
Professor Richter recently travelled to Cambridge in the UK to collect the instrument.
"It really was an amazingly moving experience for me to fly halfway around the world do that," he said.
He said Mr Caldersmith pushed the boundaries of making musical instruments by stepping away from European traditions to create unique methods suited to Australian timbers.
"Graham left a huge legacy to all of us … it was very courageous," Professor Richter said.
"He certainly made big inroads into that resistance [to using Australian timbers]."
He added that a violin maker did not "make an object".
"The violin maker, in the whole process, manifests his or her existence and their vision on what they make … and the musician picks that up and responds to that," Professor Richter said.
Violin awarded to 13yo winner
Professor Richter recently presented the newly-crafted violin to this year's Kendall National Violin Competition winner Ein Na, a 13-year-old from Brisbane.
"I am really honoured to be able to receive it," she said.
"I have so far only used a violin as a loan from my teacher, so I will be able to use this violin in future competitions and be able to further my musical education."
Ein, who played with the Kendall String Academy Ensemble to win the prize, said she started playing at the age of seven in Cairns with a Korean violin teacher.
"It's such a big prize and this is much larger than many other competitions. It was just fun playing with a string orchestra and having this whole experience," she said.
"I really want to be a violinist and play concerts around the world."
Promoting the arts in Australia
Professor Richter said Ein was a very deserving winner.
"She is a remarkable young person, a totally mature person and has great charisma and stage presence … and a great sense of purpose when she plays," he said.
Since 2004, semi-finals have been held as public performances in Sydney, while the final was always held in Kendall.
"It's been amazing what it has done culturally and educationally and also for music education," Professor Richter said.
"For the young musicians, to come to Kendall is always an enormous boost for their sense of direction and their artistry.
"The audience is always so supportive and enthusiastic … it's very different to playing at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for example."
Professor Richter said it had also helped launch music careers.
"When you talk to the people who have gone through it, and even people who have now been in the profession for two decades, they always go back to Kendall and say, 'That was a really formative experience for us'," he said.
He hoped Mr Prokop would continue to make Australian-wood violins for future competitions, if appropriate timbers could be sourced.
