Otto Vowinkel

Guitar maker Amsterdam

at the workshop

Susana Opanski

susana opanski, costas cotsiolis

 

These are Susana Opanski, Costas Cotsiolis and students of Susana in the dressing room of Costas after his concert in our series Meesters op de Gitaar. Susana and her students are loyal visitors to the series.

Susana Opanski is convinced that music connects people and that playing an instrument plays an important role in the personal development of children and young people.

For more than 20 years Susana Opanski is working as a guitar teacher at the Music School in Amersfoort. Besides that she develops educational projects to bring children into contact with music.

SGEN Workshop Otto Vowinkel

 

In addition to being a guitarist, bassoonist and guitar teacher, Susana Opanski is also the founding conductor a of the Student Gitaar Ensemble Nederland (SGEN). Last year the ensemble released a CD thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign. Significant donors were rewarded with a visit to my workshop.

On May 25, the ensemble can be heard at the Vondelkerk in Amsterdam.
Our concert series continues in September. Subscriptions for sale.

 

meesters op de gitaar 2018-19 voorkant-small

 

 

Krisna and Prawira Pijloo

krisna_en_prawira pijloo

These are Krisna and Prawira Pijloo after having performed Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve in Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Both Krisna and Prawira play the guitar from an early age and both want to become professional guitarists.

We invited them to play one piece before Rafael’s concert, to get a taste of the real thing. In the video below you can see them getting prepared, at home as well as right before the concert.

I know Krisna and Prawira since 2013 as you can see in the other video, recorded when they visited the workshop with their parents.

Kimiko Kawabata

Kimiko Kawabata

This is Kimiko Kawabata, a Japanese calligraphy artist, living in Leiden (the Netherlands) since 1972.

Inspired by haikus of master poet Basho describing the beauty of the area of Fukushima, Kimiko made a series of calligraphies for an exposition in Huis de Pinto in Amsterdam.

Next weekend, during the closure of the exposition a series of concerts will take place. One of the concerts will be given by Hambre y Sed the guitar ensemble of which Kimoko Kawabata is a member.

The revenues of the exposition and concerts will be handed to the victims of Fukushima by Kimiko personally. Since the region was destroyed by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011, Kimoko travels to Fukushima at least once a year,

kimiko kawabata kalligrafie

Sad update May 2019

Tara Stewart

tara stewart photographer

This is Tara Stewart taking a picture. Tara is flamenco aficionado, professional filmer and video editor. She shoots and edits all video’s for Guitar Salon International, my dealer in the USA.

A couple of weeks ago Tara came to Amsterdam for a holiday and brought her camera. She visited my workshop where I happened to be working on a new guitar for GSI! She took pictures and filmed and the beautiful result can be seen in GSI’s blog post Coming soon Otto Vowinkel.

While she was busy working, her boyfriend, Los Angelos Guitar Quartet member John Dearman, tried a new ceder top.

john dearman otto vowinkel

Thomas Vowinkel

thomas vowinkel otto vowinkel

This is Thomas Vowinkel, an electric bass player from Germany who got interested in classical guitar playing. When he started looking for a new instrument he found out about a guitar maker in Amsterdam, named just like him!

Although my grandfather – named Otto Vowinkel too – comes from the same area as where Thomas Vowinkel comes from, it seems like that Thomas and I are not related family wise.

Thomas took some beautiful pictures of his stay in Amsterdam. The one on top he named The three Vowinkel’s.

otto vowinkel concert guitar

Tom

AT5 Otto Vowinkel Basta TV

This is Tom. He came to the workshop to make this reportage about guitar making as a profession. The reportage was broadcasted on AT5, Amsterdam’s News Channel.

Tom likes playing the guitar and wanted to know how a guitar is being made. Since the reportage is part of a series about all kind of professions, I told him the best way to become a guitar maker is to just start making them.

Hans Bergram

I got this cartoon years ago as a ‘thank you’ gift for repairing the bridge of a bass. It’s in my office for years now and I share it with you in this post. I lost contact with the cartoonist. Even Google couldn’t help me finding him.

otto vowinkel hans bergram
neck bent? out of tune? buzzing problems?

 

Ricardin Hwang

This is Ricardin Hwuang, a classical guitarist from South-Korea. Last December he made a trip through Europe including Amsterdam. While being so near, he visited the beautiful Zaanse Schans where, to his big surprise, he bumped into Aniello Desiderio .

He posted many pictures of his trip on Facebook account but this movie is not there yet. I made it in my workshop, the day he picked his new guitar. The ticking at the beginning comes from his wife’s photo camera.

George Breitner

This is George Hendrik Breitner  (1857-1923), a Dutch painter who lived and worked on the Lauriergracht, the canal where my workshop is located. Until February 2015 there will be an exhibition about his work in het Stadsarchief, in a beautiful building that alone is worth paying a visit.

The reason why I’m telling you this,  is because of the painting underneath which can be found at the Rijksmuseum. It’s called the Corner of Lauriergracht and tweede Laurierdwarsstraat. That’s exactly where my workshop is!

george breitner

george breitner workshop otto vowinkel