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Apprentice under the guidance of William Moennig II and William Moennig III, in Philadelphia
During the Twentieth Century, the major violin shops of the U.S. were in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The great shop of William Moennig & Son was where Tim Jansma began as an apprentice. By the end of his apprenticeship with Moennig's, Tim had learned the advanced methods of repair and restoration, set-up and adjustments, and had the fantastic opportunity to study many of the finest instruments in America.
Graduate of the International School of Violin Making,
A. Stradivari (I.P.I.A.L.L.)
Jansma relocated to Italy in 1973, to the city of Cremona to advance his education. This small, merchantile city is famous for producing the great violin makers of history: the Amati family, the Guarneri family and the shop of Antonio Stradivari. One of only three violin making schools world-wide at the time, including the Mittenwald and Mirecourt schools, Tim chose the Cremonese school for the influences for which it was famous.
Jansma Violin Shop, Cremona, Italy
The original Jansma Violin Shop was located at a farm outside the city of Cremona, along the Po River Valley. It was in this rustic environment where the first Jansma Instruments were made. Many violin dealers came to the Jansma Violin Shop of Cremona to select instruments to add to their collection and sell to their own clientele throughout Europe.
A leading authority on tonewood in Europe and America
While located in Cremona, Tim began travelling extensively through Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Germany and Northern Italy selecting logs of maple and spruce. He milled the logs and sold the tonewoods to other Cremonese violin makers. The wood he selected for himself was crated and shipped to Michigan. Over the following two decades, Tim had continued to select logs in order to supply tonewoods to violin makers all over the world.
A disciplined education as a musician provides insight as a violin maker
Before becoming a luthier, Tim Jansma was a violin performance major at Michigan State University, studying under the guidance of Walter Verdehr. In Philadelphia, he studied privately from Frank Costanza of the Philadelphia Orchestra. As an apprentice at Moennig & Sons, the Moennig's utilized this talent. When musicians wanted to hear instruments played away from their ear, Tim was called to play for them. This gave him the added opportunity to play Strads, Guarneris and Amatis; many of the finest instruments available. He played professionally as a free-lance musician and for many orchestras, including the Grand Rapids Symphony and the West Shore Symphony of west Michigan. Tim finds his experience as a musician gives him much greater insight as to what a musician seeks when looking for an instrument.
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