High Aspen Strings is the violin making studio of Mike Dunham. High Aspen Strings provides new handmade violins, violas, and cellos, along with repair and maintenance of violin family instruments. While High Aspen Strings features the work of Mike Dunham, instruments by other makers are occasionally available. Check with us to find the current stock of instruments.
About Mike
A violin ready to send off to a VSA exhibit.
Mike is a graduate of the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City, https://www.vmsa.net/. He studied under Charles Wolf, Sanghoon Lee, R Alex Wilson, and Aubrey Alexander. Mike’s interest in making violins flows naturally from many years of making simpler instruments, such as dulcimers and harps.
Prior to attending violin making school, Mike worked for more than 30 years in advanced materials research and new product development in many fields, most recently developing cardiovascular medical devices. A PhD in Chemical Engineering provided an academic basis for this work and provides a starting point for understanding and using the complex natural materials used in stringed instruments and their finishes.
Mike continues his training and learning through workshops of the Southern Violin Association and through a recent set of internships with Triangle Strings in Raleigh, NC. His recent making is influenced by his attendance at the Violin Society of America Violin Makers Workshop at Oberlin in 2022.
The intense pleasure of hearing each instrument come to life as it is bowed for the first time is a special treat. And keeping beautiful instruments playing through careful repair and maintenance is almost as fun.
In 2020 Mike and his wife moved to Brevard, NC, where he is enjoying his new studio space in a former studio apartment at their home in downtown Brevard.