2022 Guest Speakers
Learn more about the incredible women joining the conversation
October 28, 29, and 30
Live subtitles and translations will be available in 12 languages.
Visit our YouTube tutorial to learn how to use this feature.
Presenters & Speakers
Agustina Alvarez – Argentina
Violin Maker
Agustina began her violinmaking studies in 2010. She has created her own co-op workshop in Jujuy, Argentina, where she has been dedicated to fostering a welcoming atmosphere among her instruments, tools, and colleagues – including Empanada, the cat she shares with luthier María José Peláez Aguirre. Agustina believes in building better, healthier lutherie communities – and to that end, she is opening the first lutherie school in the world with an all-women faculty!
Hear from Agustina in Women in Tango & Lutherie
Amanda Ewing – United States
Violin Maker, 2021 Women In Lutherie Fellow
Amanda is a Nashville-based violin, cello, and bass-maker, as well as a passionate salsa dancer. She began her lutherie journey in January 2018, and is proud to represent Black makers in a predominantly white field, and to inspire other makers from Black communities to join her at the bench. She has founded Black in Lutherie, a luthier incubator to help Black instrument-makers gracefully reach their potential in their field of instrument making, by aggressively and lovingly providing individuals with the support they need – be it informational, financial, tangible, emotional, physiological, social, or communal.
Hear from Amanda in Black in Lutherie: Two Women's Journey, Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel
Anne Harris – United States
Fiddle Player, Recording Artist
Anne is a roots and blues fiddle player, singer-songwriter, and recording artist, who spent her time in lockdown founding an artisan body butter business called Radical Self Love. Born and raised in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Anne now calls Chicago home, though her work as a touring musician allows her the opportunity to travel, and meet and collaborate with many wonderful people, including her friend and collaborator, Amanda Ewing, from whom she has commissioned a historic violin – the first known violin commission made between two Black women.
Hear from Anne in Black in Lutherie: Two Women's Journey, Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel
Aparna Halpé – Sri Lanka / Canada
Labor Organizer, Tango Violinist, Scholar
Aparna is a labor organizer, musician, and composer based in Toronto. Originally from Kandi, Sri Lanka, Aparna studied at Guildhall and the Royal Schools of Music, UK. She performed with the Sri Lanka Philharmonic prior to moving to Toronto, where she is a professor of English at Centennial College. Aparna co-founded Ruta 7 Duo, and Amaras Tango, and has performed with tango ensembles across North America. She founded Solidaridad Tango to elevate great tango music in Canada, and to affirm the diversity and talents of women in the field.
Hear from Aparna in Women in Tango & Lutherie
Brigid Marz – United States / France
Violinmaking Student, Circus Artist
Brigid is a lutherie student based out of Mirecourt, France. A recent transplant from the NYC world of circus and stage, Brigid is often found upside-down on silks, trapeze, pole, and German wheel. In contrast with the New York hustle, Brigid loves the timeless, meditative quality of instrument building, and is passionate about sustainable practices. Brigid volunteers as the Media & Marketing Consultant at Women In Lutherie, and hopes to see a more equitable, accessible instrumental community, where people of all races, genders, and backgrounds are welcomed and celebrated.
Hear from Brigid in Body Symmetry and Balance: From the Circus to the Workbench
Cat Autrey – United States
Luthier
Cat is a graduate of the Violin Repair Program at Minnesota State College at Red Wing. Cat has been working at a full service shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma doing repairs, set ups, and restorations for 6 years. She continues her education as much as possible by attending workshops and volunteering at VSA conventions.
Cat runs a TikTok account that has garnered widespread attention in the luthier community for its relatability.
Hear from Cat in 2022 International Women In Lutherie Awards
Daisy Tempest – United Kingdom
Acoustic Guitar Maker
Daisy is a London-based maker of steel string acoustic guitars. She began her lutherie journey in her early twenties, after finding solace and expression in the instrument after the death of her brother. Daisy loves the precision and satisfaction of her craft. She has launched her own business, Tempest Guitars, where she hopes to contribute to making the guitar industry a safe place for women to be a part of as well as restoring the instrument to a vogue she feels it has lost through lack of diversity in the industry. A secret goof, she loves to draw cartoons and take lengthy naps.
Hear from Daisy in Marketing and Networking Basics
Elinore Morris – Zimbabwe / Sweden
Double Bass Maker and Restorer
A native of Harere, Zimbabwe currently living outside of Gothenburg Sweden, Elinore specializes in double bass fabrication and repair. She has worked in the lutherie field for over twenty years, and still loves the creative problem solving, and getting into the zone through the labor of her hands. She always looks forward to making more new instruments, teaching others, and building a vibrant, creative workspace for herself and other luthiers. At the end of the day she is happy to come home to the love and support of her little nuclear family for fun times and interesting conversations.
Hear from Elinore in Contra Bass Bridge Troubleshooting, Navelsträngen - Intercultural Tanbour Project
Elizabeth Shaak – United States
Bow Maker
Elizabeth was born in Millburn NJ, and lives in Philadelphia, where she founded Mount Airy Violins and Bows. She loves the feeling of making something out of nothing – and making it musical as she cambers and re-cambers the wood to ensure that the bow plays its best. Even after 40 years of lutherie experience, she’s still fascinated with the process and craft, and hopes to spend more time researching bow graduations. In addition to her work, Elizabeth is a musician herself, and loves to play old time fiddle.
Hear from Elizabeth in Aging as Women In Lutherie
Eva Lerner-Lam – United States
Transportation & Data Technology Expert, Violin Collector, Music Enthusiast
Eva is a transportation policy consultant with more than 40 years of national and international experience in business and strategic planning in transportation systems. Eva came in touch with the world of violins and lutherie through her father, a violin collector who enjoyed sharing his significant collection by regularly opening his home to scholars, dealers, and musicians. Since meeting Women In Lutherie co-founders Jennifer and Jeemin, Eva has become an invaluable supporter and friend for the community, as she knows a thing or two about being a woman in a highly male-dominated field!
Hear from Eva in International Musical Instrument Registry
Flor Centurión – Argentina
Guitar Maker, Community Organizer
A classical guitar maker since 2006, Flor hails from her hometown, Buenos Aires. Founder of Mujeres y Disidencias Luthiers de Habla Hispana and later Red Lutherística, a Spanish-speaking community lifting up women and gender minorities in lutherie. Flor also teaches Formación para el Trabajo class at the National University of the Arts; equipping students with practical knowledge of career in lutherie, from running a business, health & safety, to customer service. Flor is known for her marquetry, inlay, and lacquer work on her guitars. She runs her own workshop in Buenos Aires, while raising her 6 year old son Matheo alone.
Hear from Flor in our Reproductive Health & Women In Lutherie Panel
Hilary Brady Morris – United States
Himalayan Lute Specialist, Scholar, 2022
From Arkansas and Ireland, Hilary Brady Morris is a Himalayan lute specialist, a novice luthier, and an apprentice musical instrument repair person. On a Fulbright scholarship, she conducted a year of dissertation fieldwork on Himalayan lutes in Nepal. She has also just completed a two-year research fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she studied their Himalayan—and other—lutes and their construction methods. She also facilitated The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s acquisition of a rare 19th-century lute from Ladakh. She loves that her work makes use of a scholar's mind, a maker's hands, an artist's eyes, and a musician's ears.
Hear from Hilary in Carving Away: Monoxyle Lute Construction in the Himalaya
Hilary B. Jones – United States
Musician, Educator, Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Consultant
Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Hilary now lives in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Hilary is a musician, former Girls Rock Camp director, and a guitar salesperson, and professor of gender studies and psychology with a background in sexual violence prevention.
Hilary hosts of Mid-Riff Podcast, a platform she uses to interview musicians, makers, and sellers from a variety of experiences and identities to discuss guitars and gear, as well as tips to creating awesome music spaces and workplaces.
Hear from Hilary in Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel
Jayme Kurland – United States
Musical Instrument Historian
Based in Manassas, Virginia, Jayme loves researching the history of women’s contribution to music, and sharing her work with the public through presentations and exhibitions. She is the founder of the digital history project and website, Instrumental Women, a database of women in the field of instrument making and repairing. She is currently working on a PhD in American History at George Mason University in hopes of working as a curator in a museum. In her spare time, she loves to make block prints, plant native plants in her yard, and play viola.
Hear from Jayme in The Instrumental Women of Fender
Jeemin Morgan Kim – Korea / United States
Violin Restorer, Women in Lutherie Co-Founder
A musician/artist born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Jeemin started her lutherie journey in 2005. Now based in New York City, where, after more than a decade of extensive high-end violin restoration experience, she established her own shop to serve her clients in the way that aligns with her values. Jeemin is passionate about challenging the patriarchy and systemic inequity through de-colonizing work, shifting cultural norms, and creating inter-disciplinary conversations, like those catalyzed by Women in Lutherie. Jeemin loves Afro-Latin dance/music, and holds a black belt in Iaijutsu.
Hear from Jeemin in Opening Session, Women in Tango & Lutherie, Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel, Closing Session
Jennifer Creadick – United States
Violin Maker, Women in Lutherie Co-Founder
Jennifer started her training at the Chimneys Violin Making School in the 80's, before running her own full-service violin shop in North Carolina for 30 years. In 2017, Jennifer took a few years to travel the world to develop a deeper understanding of the violin industry, visiting museums, auctions, trade shows, factories, and symposiums; meeting countless women in lutherie on her way, which became the seeds of Women In Lutherie. She is now committed to making again full-time with her new company Lutherie Lab, and using her business skills to lift up women at the bench. Jennifer now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and her dog Audrey, cat Maggie, and turtle Luther.
Hear from Jennifer in Opening Session, Closing Session
Joan Balter – United States
Luthier, Educator
A New York City native residing in Berkeley, California, Joan started her journey in lutherie in 1974 after teaching violin, viola, and cello in public schools. Joan has been a visiting faculty at the New World Symphony since 2016, and has given numerous workshops and seminars on violin-making, repair, and on buying instruments and bows. Joan has been the official luthier of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 1979, and the sole proprietor of Balter Violins since 1982, celebrating her 40 years in the business this year!
Hear from Jennifer in Going Solo: Solo-preneurs Roundtable Panel
Katie Thompson – United States
Artist, Writer, Community Organizer
Originally from Texas, Katie has lived in South Carolina for 26 years, where she founded Women of Woodworking, and the digital publication Pen & Chisel. Katie loves the connections and support she finds in woodworking communities, and works to amplify the work and stories of women and non-binary makers in woodworking. When she’s not cooking, enjoying nature, or losing herself in historical research, she’s focused on advocacy work and expanding opportunities for others in the field. She has also written a children’s woodworking book: Little Beaver Builds a Bed.
Hear from Katie in our Reproductive Health & Women In Lutherie Panel, Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel
Katherine Kidwell – United States
Violin Restorer, 2021 Women in Lutherie Fellow
Katherine started in the field of lutherie in 2015 at a local violin shop. Having grown up playing viola and working with her hands doing sculpture, instrument repair and restoration is something that she enjoyed and came quickly to her. She began pursuing lutherie as her primary career just before completing her Associates degree in 2018. In 2020, Katherine was accepted into the first Women In Lutherie Fellowship where she studied with prominent members in the community. Katherine continued working and studying with the luthiers at her job, until her departure in early 2021. Since then Katherine has been traveling to study with other luthiers from around the world and has been developing her own business, KM Lutherie.
Hear from Katie on Friday as she emcees our conference.
Laura Wallace – Canada
Violin Maker
A native of British Columbia, Canada, Laura lives on the Sunshine Coast where she makes violins and runs her own shop, and frequently rows out into the ocean in her small, speedy ladyslipper rowboat. She takes pride in all of the behind-the-scenes contributions she makes to help musicians make music. She loves quiet, detailed work like cutting sound posts and bridges to optimize the setup and bring an instrument to life. As her business grows, Laura plans to share her knowledge with younger apprentices, as a way of paying forward the generosity she received early in her career.
Hear from Laura in Going Solo: Solopreneurs Roundtable Panel
Lynn Hannings – United States
Bow Maker and Restorer, Instructor
An NYC transplant now living in Maine, Lynn began her lutherie journey at age 16. Alongside her passions of kayaking and photography, she loves to help musicians create beautiful music – and has studied musician’s injuries to help keep players free from repetitive use injuries. Lynn is a vocal advocate for ethical sourcing, and spearheads International Alliance of Violin and Bow Makers for Endangered Species, an initiative seeking to protect the natural resources used in traditional artistic instrument and bow making through conservation and regrowth.
Hear from Lynn in The Pernambuco Crisis: CITES Change & Ramifications
María José Peláez Aguirre – Mexico / United States
Luthier, 2022 Women In Lutherie Fellow
Originally hailing from Xalapa Veracruz, María José now splits her time between Mexico and the US, where she makes and repairs guitars and Latin American Folk Strings. An enthusiast of knitting, crocheting, and weaving as well as playing and dancing folk music, María José loves to work with her hands, come up with creative solutions – and to hear the instruments she has created. María José is proud to run a successful shop that lets her live off of something she loves to do.
Hear from María José in Solo-preneurs Roundtable Panel, and in Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel. She’ll also be emceeing on Saturday and Sunday.
Mary Jane Kwan – United States
Violin Maker
Originally from Austin Texas, MJ now lives in Brooklyn. MJ began her lutherie pursuits in architecture school, building a guitar in the evening hours of the woodshop, before eventually enrolling in a violinmaking school. MJ loves the balance of physical labor and mental stimulation, and is proud to share nerd skills like math, CAD, data analysis, and illustration with our community – check out her Fingerboard Survey & Analysis! As her career advances, she’ll continue developing data analysis for instrument making, and facilitating ongoing information exchange. MJ loves to host chamber music brunches in her newly remodeled kitchen.
Hear from Mary Jane in Luthier Income Survey: Summary and Analysis
Maryam Javidmehr – Iran / Sweden
Tanbour Musician and Maker, Sculptor, Scholar
A native of Iran living in Gothenburg, Sweden, Maryam focuses her creative and academic work on the tanbour - a lute-family instrument dating back 5,000 years that is still played today in western Iran. Maryam has fought to make a place for herself as a tanbour player, in an art form that traditionally excludes women. Through her project, Navelsträng, and her playing techniques, Maryam introduces tanbour and her own unique sound and style to Swedish audiences. She loves to share her knowledge and experience with people across many cultures.
Hear from Maryam in Navelsträngen - Intercultural Tanbour Project
Monica Esparza – United States
Spanish, Classical, and Flamenco Guitars, and Ukuleles
Hailing from Southern California, Monica began her fretted-instrument work in 2000, pursuing many projects including the build of a 16th century vihuela replica. She enjoys the opportunity to be creative and to take part in the music culture that she connects to. She plays tennis several times a week, and loves putting Legos and jigsaw puzzles together, and keeping up with her daughter, a research scientist for NASA. A lifelong learner, Monica is always expanding the depth of her knowledge of the instruments she builds.
Hear from Monica in French Polish Finishing
Natasha Sealey-Worrell – Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Archetier, Pianist, 2022 Women In Lutherie Fellow
In 2015, as a performing arts student at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Natasha was given the opportunity to participate in a workshop conducted by Luthiers Sans Frontieres USA (LSF-USA), where she learned and developed a love for the craft of bow restoration and re-hairing. Natasha decided to get further training and pursue this career, and she has since then established her own workshop (N.S.W. Bow Restorations and Re-hairs) and is the only person in the country with formal training in this area of Lutherie.
Hear from Natasha in Going Solo: Solo-preneurs Roundtable Panel
Paris Andrew – Italy and United Kingdom
Luthier, Teacher, 2022 Women In Lutherie Mentor
After a start in lutherie in harpsichord repair and restoration, Paris retrained in the making and repair of violin family instruments in London. After several years in the big city she relocated to Florence, Italy where she enjoys making new instruments in a shared workshop with her colleagues and friends, teaching at the local lutherie school, and mastering Italian cooking and working in her garden.
Hear from Paris on Sunday in Selling on Socials
Rachael Soroka – United States
Violin Maker & Restorer
Rachael lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, surrounded by wild plants, animals, and beautiful landscape. An adventurer of Ancestral Skills, Rachael spends time practicing and learning about wild foods and medicines, herbalism, hunting, butchering, growing food, tracking animals, wood work, stone work, and making everyday items from natural materials. Rachael has worked professionally in the violin repair and restoration field since 2000, and opened Soroka Violins in 2008.
Hear from Rachael in Sharpening Blades for Hand Tools
Rachel Spitz-Becker – United States
Violin Maker & Restorer
Born and raised in New Jersey, Rachel holds degrees in physics, cello performance, and violin making. Rachel loves both fixing things and building new instruments - and is always working to figure out how everything works. After working in New York City for five years, Rachel celebrated a huge milestone last year, opening their own shop in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Away from the workshop, Rachel enjoys powerlifting with their wife Gabriella, and the couple is excited to be planning to restore a historic 1878 home they recently purchased together.
Hear from Rachel in Acoustics Basics: Physics of Sound and Vibrations
Sally Mullikin – United States
Violin Maker & Restorer
As a young girl growing up in North Carolina, Sally's mom shuttled her to and from violin lessons while her dad taught her basic carpentry skills. Sally took up lutherie while attending college for a music degree, and has traveled around the world getting training & experience, rising the ranks and eventually training numerous other younger luthiers.
Now residing in Atlanta, Georgia where she focuses on restoration and repair of violin family instruments, Sally enjoys gardening, baking, spending time with her husband and 2 children, and performing with her two groups ‘Justin Robinson & the Mary Annettes’ and ‘Little Root’.
Hear from Sally in our Reproductive Health & Women In Lutherie Panel
Sara Betania Cohen Sánchez – Spain / United States
Violin Restorer, 2022 Women In Lutherie Fellow
Sara began her studies in 2017 in Bilbao, Spain, and now lives in Ibiza, where she focuses on violin-family instrument restoration. She loves to bring pieces of history back to life and give an instrument a second chance. Looking ahead, Sara is planning on pursuing a more research-based, conservation-focused style of restoration, as well as a greener approach to her work. When not restoring instruments, Sara loves to make historically-inspired clothing, and to learn every single craft she can lay her hands on.
Hear from Sara in our Reproductive Health & Women In Lutherie Panel
Sarah Marriage – United States
Furniture Maker, Woodworker
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Sarah studied architecture and fine woodworking in college. Sarah is a maker of fine furniture and other wooden objects, and is Founder of “A Workshop of Our Own,” a space where women furniture makers can come together in a supportive environment, in Baltimore. She is a co-founder and co-editor of Works & Days Quarterly, an online quarterly of arts, letters, and no small amount of craft.
Hear from Sarah in our Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel
Shawndel Fraser – United States
Psychologist, Educator, Ceramicist
Shawndel is an ecofeminist environmental psychologist, specializing in creating safer spaces and reconstructing culture; as well as a ceramicist, dancer, musician, educator, and a podcast host extraordinaire at Saka Kizomba USA.
Shawndel is a first generation Afro-Caribbean New Yorker, with extensive personal and professional experience navigating and creating safer spaces for diverse voices within predominantly traditional hetero-normative white spaces.
Hear from Shawndel in our Equity Work in Craft/Music Spaces Panel
Shirley White – United States
Violin Restorer
Hailing from Massachusetts, Shirley grew up around carpentry and furniture-building, getting an early start in woodwork. She credits her transition into lutherie to a lucky break: after attending furniture school she was doing cabinetry work for a violin shop, and the owner offered her a job! Shirley sees lutherie as a culmination in a career based in woodworking and feels that these skills complement her work as a luthier. She loves the marriage of wood and sound, coaxing an instrument that isn’t working well to its best potential. When not at the bench, Shirley is outdoors, walking, skiing, gardening with her dogs and her partner June.
Hear from Shirley in Hand Plane Tune-Up
Sofía Johnston Suarez – Spain / United Kingdom
Guitar Maker, 2022 Women In Lutherie Fellow
A personal tragedy took Sofía to immerse herself in guitar making, and after completing the first instrument, Sofía fell in love with the craft and decided to pursue a career in lutherie. Recently graduated from her degree course in Guitar Making at Newark, England, Sofía is now interested in continuing to pursue making and restoration of nylon and gut string guitars and with particular interest in traditional decorative components.
Hear from Sofía in Reproductive Health & Women in Lutherie Panel
Susanna Sweet – United States
Electric Guitar / Fretted Instrument Builder and Restorer
Based out of Minnesota, Susanna is a relative newcomer to the field, whose work in lutherie is complemented by her tech work for professional touring bands. Susanna prides herself on her ability to try something new and to push herself to get good at it. She loves everything in lutherie, from simple fixes to extreme challenges, and the smiles (and sometimes astonishment!) when a customer sees and plays an instrument. Susanna has her sights set high, and hopes to create her own guitar brand!
Hear from Susanna in All About Frets!
Tham Wai Yong — Singapore
Violin and Guitar Maker & Restorer, 2021 Women In Lutherie Fellow
Wai Yong was called out of psychiatry serendipitously into lutherie 6 years ago. Unable to resist the endless fascination and acoustical complexities of lutherie, she set up a home workshop. She started her business Wai Violins in 2017 with the aim of serving the local needs of musicians, students and teachers. Her main interest is in new-making. She hopes to make many violins, violas and cellos moving forward with the simple aim of making instruments that allow musicians to express themselves fully and easily. Wai Yong lives in Singapore with her husband, 3 kids and her rescue dog that thinks it's a cat.
Hear from Wai Yong in ADHD & Autism Spectrum in Women
Yasmeen Husain – Egypt / UK
Violin and Guitar Maker & Restorer, 2021 Women In Lutherie Fellow
An actuary by day, an amateur luthier by night (and weekends), Yasmeen fell in love with Lutherie a little over a year ago when she was forced to learn to repair her own guitar at home during the Pandemic lockdown. She found unexpected bliss in the combination of woodwork and the science of sound: which is the closest she’d been to her childhood dream of being an inventor. Yasmeen recently finished her first build (a tenor ukulele) and just started on her second instrument, a steel sting acoustic guitar. Follow Yasmeen’s journey on her Instagram account.
Hear from Yasmeen on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as she emcees our conference.
….and more!
Reserve your tickets today to join us for three days of conversation and learning.