On Saturday I met a ranking member of an elusive, secret society: the luthiers. In layman’s terms, that means Gary Garavaglia is a violin maker, but in the world of string instruments, he’s a master.

Alton private violin instructor Kelsey Waits runs her violin studio out of a small room at the front of her house. With a focus on teaching, Waits dedicates part of her life, and her house, to ...

After Jan Sloman's passing, his students and family completed and published his unfinished violin teaching book.