Anne Harris sits next to Amanda Ewing, both holding their respective violins (Photo: Mike Belleme)
On Friday, February 7, 2025, Anne Harris took possession of a brand new violin. A Black violinist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and singer, Harris commissioned from instrument from Amanda Ewing: one of the first known Black woman luthiers in the United States. It’s a title newspapers love to tout… yet if you ask Ewing herself, she would say both the occasion — and her moniker — come with an important historical caveat.
Amanda Ewing, a long-time Nashville resident, carries the title of first officially recognized Black woman luthier in United States history. It was a phrase she first heard at the conclusion of her violinmaking apprenticeship. Ewing's friends surprised her with a trip to the Tennessee State Museum, where she received a pop-up performance by her peers and a shiny plaque with the new designation. Apparently, a team of Tennessee historians and politicians failed to find conclusive historical evidence of another Black woman who was (or is currently) a professional U.S. luthier, and issued the proclamation to honor Ewing's achievement.
The distinction left Ewing with mixed feelings. While touched, she had trouble accepting that she was the first in recorded American history, especially considering how much Black people have contributed to the development of American musical traditions. Thus, Ewing set off to change the narrative.
A man plays the fiddle in front of his cabin, circa 1868 (Photo: New York Public Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
She soon found tracing the history of Black luthiers in the United States to be a difficult task. “I started googling Black violin makers, and I wasn’t finding anything,” explained Ewing in a phone conversation with WFMT. She contacted music schools, went through old photos of luthier gatherings… and still had no luck.
While disappointing, this lack of historical record is sadly all too common. Throughout United States history, slavery and intentional family separation kept Black stories from being notated. Accomplishments of enslaved people were rarely written down. And if anything, talents, wares, or credit were stolen by white people.
Such was the case, Ewing suspects, for an imprisoned Black man in the late 19th century. He was unable to sell instruments under his own name, so he crafted violins under a sharecropper’s name - a complication in establishing a historical record. Ewing hopes to find more information about this maker and others who were forced into similar circumstances.
There's also the case of American violin maker Luther D. Heiges. Some historians believe Heiges was a Black craftsman who passed as white to sell his violins. But a lack of definitive records from the time prevent this theory from being substantiated.
Ewing mentioned that this dearth of recorded history was a point of discussion among archivists when she visited the International Bluegrass Music Association. “There was no real desire to archive Black history at a certain period of time,” says Ewing, “even birth certificates.”
The lack of Black luthier representation continues to be reflected in contemporary numbers. In 2025, its estimated that around 86% of reported U.S. luthiers are white, while only 4% are Black or African-American.
Part of this is the exclusive and niche nature of the profession. There are currently only three accredited US schools offering a degree in lutherie, making scholarships practically non-existent and programs extremely competitive. And like with many other classical music and arts spaces, Black people have not historically been welcomed.
Amanda Ewing in her workshop (Photo: Artist's Facebook)
Perhaps, then, it's no wonder that Ewing herself entered the field by complete accident. She likes to say that her vocation “found her” at a moment when her life was at a crossroads. In 2017, she accepted a severance package after her company downsized, and was looking for what to do next. Ewing picked up the violin in order to encourage her own daughter to keep playing piano. Soon enough, Ewing found herself engaged in a community orchestra, seated next to musicians of various backgrounds.
One of those violinists was a luthier by the name of Ray DeMeo - a Chicagoan who relocated to Nashville to pursue his dream of making instruments. She first approached DeMeo with a request to help her change the sound of her violin. Before she knew it, she became more and more interested in his work… until she gathered up the courage to ask for an apprenticeship.
It wasn’t until Ewing began working as a maker that she realized people were drawn to her simply by her mere presence in the field. “I started to get inquiries about learning how to make [violins] as early as 4 months in,” reminisced Ewing, “and I hadn’t even made a decision at that time as to what I wanted to do. I was just having a really good time learning something new and exciting.”
However, Ewing responded to this interest by creating an online community called “Black in Lutherie”: a group for supporting and learning the history of Black U.S. instrument makers. One of her discoveries through the group was Dennis Stone, a Black man in the DC area who made violins from the 1970s to the 1990s. Ewing was able to connect with Stone’s widow to learn more.
Amanda Ewing in her workshop (Photo: Mike Belleme)
“Black in Lutherie” also helps connect interested students with opportunities for apprenticeships or academic programs for violinmaking. “In today’s time, it’s still very challenging,” states Ewing before rattling off a list of barriers: expensive schools, limited programs, rigid schedules, and competitive apprenticeships. She also notes that some makers don’t teach out of pride or so that their signature techniques will remain unique.
But the most common problem is that training an apprentice simply takes a long time, and there is no way of cutting corners to make it easier. “It’s a marathon, and not a sprint,” Ewing clarifies. “It takes you about 10 years until you’re in a place where you think… ‘I can make some really great instruments.’”
Take the fiddle commission from Anne Harris. Despite the fact that Amanda Ewing has been making instruments professionally for well over six years, receiving a first commission — as opposed to selling an instrument that's already been made — is a big deal for a luthier. It’s a mark of confidence when a musician entrusts a maker to fashion their next instrument.
So how did this collaboration come to be? Instagram, of course! The two connected online during the pandemic. Harris, who was playing on a 1961 Roth violin, was looking for a way to refresh her sound and stumbled upon an article about Ewing’s work. The two met in 2022 to test out one of Ewing’s violins: “Willow,” a darker, warm-toned instrument inspired by the sound of a grandmother’s voice. The meetup cemented Harris’ desire to support Ewing’s work. Not only did Harris respond to Ewing's status as a trailblazing luthier, she loved the sound of her instruments!
Ewing ended up making two instruments for the commission so that Harris could choose between them: one modeled after a Strad ‘Glennie’ and one a John E. Betts. She put different strings on each instrument to accentuate each violin’s strengths. “I was taught that if someone commissions one instrument, make two,” notes Ewing “because it's nice to have something to choose from.”
Yet unlike contemporary choices of spruce or maple, Ewing stayed with the once-favored willow wood, which had resonated with Harris. The luthier spent time delving into various cuts of wood, looking at the grain and comparing weight, until she found samples that spoke to her.
Ewing also sought to find a varnish that captured Harris’s warm, radiant energy. She landed on a golden hue. And evidently, it was the right choice. Ewing smiled recalling Harris's loving description of the finish: “bottled sunshine.”
Ultimately, Amanda Ewing dreams of expanding and broadening the field of violinmaking, including by differentiating her practice from European tradition and exploring unique instrument shapes. She also hopes to eventually open her own school of lutherie, accessible to all, where students will be encouraged to pursue their artistic visions. This commission for Anne Harris is just the opening movement.
On Saturday, March 22, Anne Harris will debut her brand new violin at 8pm on WFMT's Folkstage.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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