Vanna So Violin

Specializing in both violins and violas, Vanna has to date crafted over 450 instruments that feature a powerful and broad, yet sophisticated tonal quality, and are finished with an golden-amber varnish of his own making. Vanna So was born in Cambodia , and grew up in a family of wood workers. After coming to the United States, he looked for employment that would take advantage of his woodworking skills, and so ended up in the workshop of William Harris Lee as an assistant to William Whedbee. Developing an increasing desire to make his own instruments, he began an apprenticeship with Tetsuo Matsuda, which culminated in the making of his first violin in 1988. In the twenty-five years that have followed, Vanna has developed a world-wide reputation as one of the outstanding luthiers of his time.