16 1/4 inch (41.2 cm) viola
I made this viola in the summer of 2009, in response to a commission from a talented student at Chetham's School of Music. He had seen a number of my violas, and had a clear idea of the size and sound quality he was looking for. I decided that this could be best met by drawing an outline specifically for him. We wanted to accommodate the string length he was looking for, which was slightly longer than that of my more usual model for this size of viola.
I drew the model using proportions commonly used by the Brescian violin makers whose work is my constant inspiration.
We chose poplar for the wood of the back as it was likely to give the slightly darker quality of sound we were looking for.
The finished viola has a powerful and projecting sound, with a very focussed C string and a fast, easy response.
