repair & restoration specialist
Stephen Beekman has been repairing and restoring violin-family instruments and their bows since the late 1980s. He received his formal training at the summer UNH Violin Craftsmanship Institute over the course of many years, learning from well-known masters Hans Nebel and Lynn Hannings. A rare luthier who specializes in both violin-family instruments and their bows, he has built a reputation as one of the area’s only skilled repair and restoration experts. His many decades working with local musicians as a luthier and a player has a given him a unique familiarity with the local strings community and its needs. He has been a founding member of multiple local ensembles over the years and is currently concertmaster of the South Kingstown Community Orchestra.
violin/viola instructor & shop manager
Hannah has been playing the violin for more than 20 years. She worked with her Dad, Steve in the shop throughout her school years before leaving for college. Since graduating from Boston University with a degree in English, she has completed a second degree in Music from Rhode Island College, where she played in the orchestra and chamber ensembles. She has been an active volunteer in local school music programs and sits on the board of Rock, Paper, Scissors, a non-profit organization that runs a string program in Vietnam. She has spent 3 summers with Rock, Paper, Scissors in Vietnam teaching and repairing strings. She now has taken over the day-to-day business operations in our shop, and assists Steve with repairs as much as possible. She continues to expand her lutherie skills with practice on our shop instruments and by attending intensive courses such as those offered at the UNH Violin Craftsmanship Institute and Rodney Mohr’s Learning Trade Secrets. She also maintains a private lesson studio at the shop for students of the violin and viola.
rental technician & sales clerk
A favorite customer turned employee, Roz is an aspiring cellist and our essential go-to person for those everyday tasks that keep the shop running smoothly – from prepping instruments for sale to helping rental customers to answering phone calls. She is also our chief rental technician in charge caring for our rental instruments – making sure they are clean, maintained and sounding their best for their next player.
In addition to her work in our shop, Roz is a trained wildlife rehabilitation specialist, and when she is not here you can often find her rescuing squirrel families from the perils of cats, downed trees, and unpleasant encounters with cars.
1058 Kingstown Road
Wakefield, RI 02879