Craig Tomlinson - Instrument Builder
This is Craig Tomlinson’s presentation at Sam Sullivan's 33rd Public Salon on February 7th, 2019 at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre in Vancouver, BC.
Craig Tomlinson began building folk instruments in 1969 and Harpsichords In 1975. After working with Edward R. Turner, of the Russell Collection in Edinburgh and later with John Philips in Berkeley, California, Craig started his own workshop in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In 1988 Craig received a Canada Council Grant to research a selection of Harpsichord collections in Europe. He came away with a wealth of information, measurements and photographs as well as a good supply of excellent tone woods.
Tomlinson bases his instruments on surviving 17th and 18th Century Harpsichords from the French, Flemish, Italian and German schools of building. All the parts used in his instruments are made in his West Vancouver workshop using timbers of Yellow Poplar, German Spruce, Swiss Pear, Italian Cypress and English Beech along with logs of Ebony, Boxwood and Holly.
Tomlinson’s Harpsichords balance the tonal intricacies of their sound, a reliable keyboard and action that responded perfectly to the player’s touch and an aesthetic beauty in their decoration. Tomlinson Harpsichords, Virginals, Clavichords and Fortepianos are used by many of the top players and orchestras and may be seen and heard in private residences, music schools, concert halls and at music festivals around the world.
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