2026 VMAAI Competition Judges

Christopher Germain makes award-winning violins, violas and cellos from his studio in Philadelphia, PA.  Mr. Germain graduated from the Chicago School of Violin Making in 1985.  From 1985 to 1991 he worked for the Chicago firms, Kenneth Warren & Son Ltd. and Bein and Fushi Inc., focusing on restorations of rare stringed instruments.    In 1995, Mr. Germain was invited by legendary restorer Vahahn Nigogosian to be an instructor at the Oberlin Restoration Workshop.  Mr. Germain became director of the VSA/Oberlin Violinmaker’s Workshop in 1997, which recently celebrated it’s 20th Anniversary.

 

Mr. Germain has served as the President of The American Federation of Violin and Bowmakers as well at The Violin Society of America and has also served on the Governing Boards of both organizations.  In 2006, he organized The American Violin, a historical perspective on the history of violin making, which took place at The Library of Congress in Washington DC.  He is co-author of The American Violin (2016 AFVBM).  In addition, Mr. Germain is the author of numerous other articles, which have appeared in publications and scholarly journals, such as The Journal of The Violin Society of America, VSA Letters, The Strad magazine, Strings and others.

 

Mr. Germain is also a member of Entente Internationale Maitres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art and has served as judge on numerous international violin making competitions, including The Violin Society of America International Competition, the International Triennale in Cremona, Italy, the China International Violinmaking Competition and others.  He has lectured on violinmaking and demonstrated his craft at venues around the world.