After receiving a BS in Physics and spending 5 years in the US Air Force as a pilot and computer programmer Jeff decided to focus on turning his hobbies of music and woodwork into a career. He attended the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City and graduated in 1979. Jeff worked for Peter Prier in his repair shop during school and later was the foreman of the repair shop. Peter Prier then hired his as the woodworking instructor in the Violin Making School. He taught there for four years. He decided leave and further his education by working for Jacques Francais Rare Violins Inc. under the direction of Rene Morel doing more sophisticated repair and restoration. In 1988 he opened his own shop in Boulder Colorado and later moved to Flagstaff Arizona where he still resides. He also taught at the Violin Society of America’s violin repair and restoration workshop under the direction of Vahakn Nigogosian. In 2018 he quit selling student instruments and doing repair to focus strictly on building instruments. His techniques are quite traditional, but he does use some computer driven acoustical analysis to assist him in making decisions while building and adjusting his instruments.
