This bow is part of our 2023 Annual Contemporary American Makers Exhibition & Sale

European tradition

A native of Amos, in the Abitibi region of Québec, Canada, André Lavoye developed an

early interest in science and studied aeronautics before beginning his career as a luthier in

Montréal in 1980. A grant from the Canada Council for the Arts enabled him to pursue his

training and from 1988 he worked in Paris, in the workshop of Serge and Frédéric Boyer.

There, he met Jean-François Raffin, from whom he learned the trade of bowmaking in the

early 1990s. He continued working as a luthier in various Parisian workshops, including that

of Jérôme Dariel. He later worked in Hong Kong with Sandra Wagstaff and in Brussels for La

Maison Bernard alongside Jan Strick.

Teaching and passing on the tradition

On his return to Canada in 1994, André Lavoye taught at Québec City’s École de lutherie

artistique du Noroît (now École nationale de lutherie). He later settled in Montréal and

worked as a luthier and archetier for Wilder & Davis Luthiers, where he is still active today,

satisfying the needs of musicians for re-hairs, repairs, setups, and so on. In 1999, he opened

his own workshop and began producing bows, violins and violas.

Member of:

EILA ( Entente Internationale des Luthiers et Archetiers )

Violin Society of America

AME6BWVN