About Us

Vermont Violins is is dedicated to promoting the study of violins, violas, cellos, and bass. In fact, the violin family of instruments is not only our specialty, it is all we do. Kathy Reilly, owner and luthier, is a violist having studied at the Oberlin College Conservatory of music. Today, she maintains an active performance career with regional orchestras and chamber ensembles.

Our workshop is staffed with outstanding luthiers who bring extensive knowledge of their professional training- both in instrument making and repair- and as performers and teachers of music. Meet head luthier, Jim Banicki.

Employer Responsibility Being a model employer is a critical component of this company's operations. We offer extremely generous wage and salary packages, health, vacation, retirement and training compensation.  Pernambuco Conservation Making great music shouldn't come at a cost to the environment. Unfortunately, the wood used in the finest bows, pernambuco, is a rare wood teetering towards an endangered classification. Fortunately, the International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative has been actively replanting seedlings (over 100,000 planted to date) and fostering research into the wood species. Vermont Violins is proud to donate 5% of all pernambuco bow sales to the IPCI.

Cultural Sponsorship Program Vermont Violins actively donates to promote educational and artistic events. In 2002 -03 we have focused our donations on schools and performance series with strong educational focus. Recent recipients include: The Montpelier Chamber Orchestra Society, the Monteverdi Music School, the Upper Valley Music Center, the Craftsbury Chamber Players Summer Program, and the Vermont String School. Smaller grants have been issued to help performers present their solo recitals (eg. Raymond Malone or Alison Cerutti) and to individuals presenting touring musicians (Jerry Holland or Johnny Cunningham). Social Responsibility Our mission at Vermont Violins is to foster music in our community and the communities of our customers. While providing high quality and excellent service is socially responsible (and we'd have it no other way), so to is tangibly supporting the music our customers both enjoy and create. To this end, we donate a significant portion of our net profits towards the presentation of music in our community.

Vermont Violins is committed to its community through a strong social, and environmental, mission!