Joshua Henry Silver Cello Bow

Joshua Henry, Bow Maker

In the fall of 1999, I moved to Salt Lake City to work with a French Master Bowmaker, Benoit Rolland. I studied with Mr. Rolland for one year, learning the traditional French method of hand-crafting violin bows. Mr. Rolland was a meticulous master, teaching me not only how to make the tools needed, but more importantly, how to use them properly. He taught how to carefully select the best wood, how to rough it down, and how to craft the playability of each stick. In his teaching, Mr. Rolland focused particular attention on the cambering of the bow, and how in combination with the graduation (or tapering down) of the stick, he taught me to draw out the playing characteristics of each piece of wood. Ultimately, this process of transforming a piece of wood by crafting it by hand results in a bow that not only plays superbly, but is aesthetically pleasing as well.