Two prestigious craft awards have been presented to Newark School of Musical Instrument Craft graduates.
The Heritage Crafts Association hosts the Heritage Craft Awards annually with awards in four categories - Maker of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Trainee of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
The 2021 awards saw two violin graduates from Newark College’s School of Musical Instrument Craft walk away with the top prizes.
The Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Colin Garrett who graduated from the Violin Making and Repair course at Newark in 2003.
Since then, Colin has volunteered for many violin-associated bodies, including as a member of the British Violin Making Association for over 20 years serving many roles from Chairman to Company Secretary and General Manager of BVMA Enterprises, a company formed to conduct the purely commercial activities of the BVMA; primarily publishing and selling books.
For the last 18 years he has also been Treasurer of the Rowan Armour Brown Trust, a charity that helps supports student luthiers with financial grants, wood distribution and work experience placements, as well as Treasurer of Luthiers Sans Frontiers, a charity that offers free training to some of the poorest countries in the world.
The Volunteer award aims to recognise the unsung heroes who put in huge amounts of time and effort, sometimes over many years, to make a real difference to their craft.
Colin said: “I was surprised to be nominated for the award and both amazed and delighted when I won it.
“With the award money I have chosen to further fund an award at Newark School of Violin Making for the Most-Improved Student of the Year.”
The Trainee of the Year award went to 2021 Violin Making and Repair graduate, Niam.
Find out more about find out more about our BA (Hons) Musical Instrument Crafts degree courses at Newark College.
