Tessitura - Ital. Opera term.  (1)All the natural notes within a key  (2)Where the song lies.

The word and its definition were first taught to me in 1998 by a wonderful music history professor  during my time attending Richard Stockton College of NJ.  While juggling a major in Fine Art and a minor in Music History, I stumbled upon the world of luthiery.  Instantly fascinated with the idea of fusing my two areas of study into one, I began researching everything related to guitar building in an effort to create truly functional, musical art.  My studies lit a desire to create fine instruments, whose aesthetic beauty would astonish the eye, while tonally take the ear to where the elusive beautiful music is found.

"Luthiery isn't a job.  It's a calling" - John Reuter, RV

While reading a trade book one day, I learned of the Roberto-Venn School in Phoenix, Arizona. A school dedicated to teaching a handful of students the ins & outs of guitar building & repair.  In the fall of 2000, I drove across country & enrolled.  From the first moment the scent of freshly cut mahogany wood hit my nose I was hooked.  For seven months I worked as a salesperson at The Guitar Center in Phoenix, learning all I could about customer service & contemporary instrument manufacturers, while my extensive, hands-on education under the tutelage of a team of very knowledgeable teachers continued. I produced two fine instruments of my own design & completely hand-crafted.  Ready to step into my new world, I left Arizona.

     Landing in New York City I acquired a position in a small, neighborhood musical instrument store in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.  For three months I watched the deliberate, old school style of .  After he left to open his own shop, I performed as the only repair tech in the busy shop.  For two years I worked in a small workshop servicing much of the west side of Brooklyn.  Honing my skills each day & gaining many loyal clients from the extensive area until a chance meeting brought the opportunity to tour the world as an instrument technician on  2004 international tour with the Ben Kweller Band & Death Cab For Cutie.  2005 brought another national tour as a tech for Mindless Self Indulgence, a very theatrical punk/techno and from New York.  Reassembling shattered guitars & basses almost every night was a very trying practice of zen & the art of instrument repair.  

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     My time on the road was fun & taught me even more about the Luthier's world.  However the whole time was spent with an eye towards the future.  Towards producing truly fine instruments who sound as beautiful as they look.  The formation of TGW has given me the opportunity to continue my journey as an instrument builder who's in it for the love of the art.   One who is always striving to create a fine, harmonious balance between the eye, the ear & the hand.  To play on a Tessitura instrument is to take a journey to where the songs lay waiting.

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