Welcome Onboard - Nikray Howsar
From the Chicago School of Violinmaking to the Green Mountains
V. RICHELIEU & VERMONT VIOLINS NEWSROOM – The architectural bench strength of our combined instrument-making and restoration teams has reached an elite milestone. We are proud to officially announce that luthier and master-tier violist Nikray Howsar has joined both the V. Richelieu making circle and our South Burlington, Vermont master workshop.
Bringing an extraordinary fusion of elite conservatory performance credentials, international cultural insights, and rigorous professional bench experience from the Chicago lutherie scene, Nikray represents a world-class addition to the Green Mountain State’s artisan community.
- Luthier Appointment: Nikray Howsar
- Workshop Assignment: V. Richelieu Making Team & South Burlington Workshop
- Credentials: Chicago School of Violinmaking (CSVM Graduate, 2024)
- Specializations: New Instrument Design, Master-Tier Acoustic Restoration
From the Chicago School of Violinmaking to the Green Mountains
Nikray arrives in Vermont following a highly successful tenure in Chicago, where he simultaneously managed high-volume client services and completed one of the most demanding technical lutherie educations in the world. As the former Shop Manager for Hoffmann Strings, he oversaw acoustic calibration and stringed instrument maintenance for clients across the American Midwest.
In 2024, Nikray graduated from the prestigious Chicago School of Violinmaking (CSVM). Originally founded as the Warren School of Violinmaking by the historic shop of Kenneth Warren and Sons, CSVM is one of only three fully accredited, credentialed full-time training academies in the United States. The program offers a curriculum that routinely meets or exceeds the traditional standards of legendary European institutions, such as the Scuola Internazionale di Liuteria A. Stradivari in Cremona, Italy.
Under the guidance of some of the nation’s most decorated master makers, CSVM students must draft, carve, and assemble an entire fleet of violins, violas, and cellos. To earn a diploma, a graduate's final masterpiece must pass a rigorous, blind jury process evaluating acoustic responsiveness, scroll geometry, edge work, and varnish execution.
Vermont Violins and V. Richelieu have long prioritized recruiting from this select educational tier, alongside graduates of the North Bennet Street School (Boston, MA) and the Violin Making School of America (Salt Lake City, UT). Nikray’s position in our shop perfectly blends these world-class technical making fundamentals with complex acoustic restoration work.
A Global Musical Journey: The Transnational Alto Voice
Nikray’s path to the workbench was forged through an elite, multi-continental career as a concert violist.
Born and raised in Iran, Nikray studied violin and viola intensively throughout his youth. In 2007, he relocated to Armenia to immerse himself in classical European training at the historic Yerevan State Conservatory, where he achieved both his undergraduate degree and his Master of Music (MM) in Viola Performance.
His exceptional performance caliber brought him to the United States to pursue advanced musical training at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which served as the precursor to earning a highly competitive Artist Diploma (AD) from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada.
While based in Toronto and later Chicago, Nikray operated at a high pedagogical level, serving as a dedicated violin and viola faculty member at the Northside Music Academy. It was during his deep immersion in daily shop work at Hoffmann Strings that his path crystallized: the unique, tactile artistry of hand-crafting the physical voice of the instrument spoke to him even louder than the concert stage.
Culturally Enlightening: The Violin as an Iranian Icon
Beyond his technical brilliance, Nikray brings an invaluable, global perspective that dismantles common Western misconceptions regarding modern Iranian culture. While Western audiences often view Iran purely through a historic, ancient Persian lens, Nikray’s firsthand experiences reveal a society where the violin is deeply integrated into contemporary daily life.
In fact, of all Western classical instruments, the violin is arguably the most popular and culturally significant instrument in Iran.
Because of its unique fretless design, the violin possesses an unrivaled ability to adapt to complex microtonal musical styles. By utilizing non-standard tunings, keys, and traditional Persian vocal modes (dastgahs), the violin serves as a seamless acoustic companion to ancient traditional Persian stringed instruments, including:
The Tar: A long-necked, waist-shaped lute.
The Santur: A delicate, hammered dulcimer.
The Kamancheh: The ancestral bowed, spiked fiddle.
Professional musicians across Iran continuously blur the lines between ancient Eastern genres and modern Western classical performance, utilizing the violin as a hyper-expressive vocal bridge. This rich musical ecosystem is integrated into primary school curriculums across the country—the very foundation that shaped Nikray’s childhood and early artistry.
Welcome to the V. Richelieu Bench
Lured to New England by a profound love for the outdoors and a professional role that allows him to seamlessly combine creative lutherie with structurally demanding archival restoration, Nikray has already made a profound impact on our team. His signature good humor, upbeat attitude, and deep global knowledge offer daily inspiration to our luthiers.
With family and close friends remaining in Iran during tumultuous geopolitical times, our workshop family stands in total solidarity with his heritage. We are incredibly proud to have found in Nikray a rare, elite talent—honed in workshops near and far—to share with our community of string players.
We warmly invite teachers, orchestral professionals, and students to visit our South Burlington studio, meet Nikray, and experience the exceptional acoustic depth he brings to our instrument setups and custom V. Richelieu builds.
Experience Elite Workshop Craftsmanship
To discover the difference a performance-focused master setup can make for your instrument, schedule an acoustic consultation or trial an instrument directly adjusted by our artisan team.
*This article was released by Vermont Violins on June 3, 2026. For media inquiries, catalog access, or scheduling availability regarding our imported instrument collections, contact us directly at info@vermontviolins.com*