Winds Days! exhibitors

Aron Vajna

Hungary

After many years of playing trumpet, Aron Vajna began the apprenticeship as a maker of brass instruments in Budapest (Hungary). He studied under the tutelage of Istvan Andrik at the school of instruments making of the Franz Liszt Academy. In 2001, he moved to Switzerland, where he worked in different workshops, focusing exclusively on the building of historical instruments. In 2004, he was hired by the firm Blechblas-Instrumentenbau Egger in Basel. He completed his certification in music instruments building in Markneukirchen (Germany) in 2006 with the title of Master Instrument Maker.

Finally, in 2008, Aron opened his own atelier for historical brass instrument making in Basel.
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Francesco Li Virghi

Italy

The recorder accompanied him throughout his school career. His training as a maker began with woodturning at the Escoulen school, where he discovered the material, the tools and the craft. Then, he met Bruno Reinhard, an artisan flute maker for 30 years. Since the opening of his own workshop in 2015, Francesco Li Virghi has made almost 150 recorders and no fewer than 1,000 other instruments have passed through the workshop for a makeover. Francesco is one of the best-known and most renowned recorder makers in the world, making copies of historical instruments by Dolmetsch, Rottenburgh and Stanesby Jr., among the others.
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Matt Martin

Great Britain

Matt Martin’s natural and period trumpets have been ever-growing in popularity – it is also great to see this craftsmanship and artistry expanding to modern trumpets. There are also some great new developments with the Bb trumpets coming.
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Philippe Bolton

France

Philippe Bolton is a recorder and flageolet maker. All of his instrument are handwork, with copies or reconstructions of mediaeval, pre-Baroque and Baroque recorders (instruments from the 15th to 18th centuries) and flageolets from the 18th and 19th centuries. He has also developed an electro-acoustic recorder to play the music of our time.

The interesting feature of Philip Bolton’s work are the French flageolets, which have coexisted in France with the recorders since the Renaissance and did not disappear at the end of the Baroque period. On the contrary, they continued to be played throughout the 19th century, and even into the early 20th century, on the eve of the First World War.
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Ricardo Simian

Chile/Italy

The quest to explore different areas, ranging from arts to technical innovation, has taken Ricardo from Chile to Italy, to Switzerland and finally to Norway, collecting degrees in music performance, cultural management, and early music along the way. All these fields have come together in his main research project into Design and 3D printing at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO). This research builds upon Ricardo’s award-winning startup 3D Music Instruments, which operates at the cross section between 3D printing technology, music, design and innovation.

3D Music Instruments makes use of 3D-modelling and 3D-printing technologies for:

• instrument design, development & production (with an emphasis on cornetts);
• musical research;
• personalized ideas and solutions.

“3D-printing technologies allow for unprecedented possibilities which we are barely beginning to explore. The standard designs of our musical instruments have been modeled by centuries of tradition and technical limitations. We would like to think that the current designs have reached an optimal point while this is very far from true,“ says Ricardo.
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Serge Delmas

France

After studying trumpet, he pursued a career with La Musique des gardiens de la Paix de Paris. Then, he resumed his early music studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Bruce Dickey in the cornet à bouquin class. He has performed with various ensembles, including Musique de joye, Les Cornets Noirs, La Fenice, Musica Antiqua Köln, Huelgas Ensemble, Anima Aeterna, Cantus Cölln, Concerto Italiano, Les Folies Françoises, Altro Montano, and many other ensembles with numerous recordings.

His library research on the 16th and 17th centuries led him to take an interest in instrument making from this period, particularly the cornet à bouquin. With the Compagnons du Tour de France, he learned a lot about wood species, their symbolism, and their use in instrument making, from the Renaissance to the early Baroque. Since 2020, a former cornet à bouquin student, Benoît Tainturier, has joined his atelier as an apprentice.

Benoît Tainturier

France

French trumpeter, recorder and cornett player. Since 2020, he has also been training the instrument making (especially cornetts) with Serge Delma as his apprentice. He regularly performs and records in France and abroad with ensembles such as Artaserse, Le Poème Harmonique, Le Banquet Céleste, Anima Aeterna, Les Épopées, Ricercar Consort, La Tempête, Le Galilei Consort, Concerto Italiano, Le Concert Spirituel, Les Arts Florissants, Ensemble Correspondances, Les Nouveaux Caractères, Oltremontano, Capilla Flamenca, B’Rock, Les Paladins, Ensemble Matheus, Maîtrise de la Cathédrale de Paris, Il Ballo, Marini consort, Ensemble Inégal, Nederlands Kamerkoor, Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik.

During the Winds Days!, the instruments by Serge Delmas and Benoît Tainturier will be on display, exhibiting a large number of instruments in a range of pitches: cornetts (440 Hz, 465 Hz, 520 Hz), cornettinos (440 Hz and 465 Hz), mute cornetts (440 Hz and 465 Hz) and tenor cornetts (440 Hz), along with the mouthpieces of all sizes.

Lore Hillenhinrichs

I am a professional flutist specializing in baroque music. Originally from Germany, I am now based in France. I regularly perform with various ensembles and orchestras. I teach both modern flute and traverso at the Conservatoire Paris–Vallée de la Marne. In recent years, I have also dedicated myself to crafting baroque flutes. In 2023, I was awarded the Prix de Paris for instrument making, and since then, I have been participating in various exhibitions and salons across Europe.

Blechblas-Instrumentenbau Egger

Since the 1960s, Blechblas-Instrumentenbau Egger has established itself as a pioneer in the reproduction of historical brass instruments. In the workshop in Basel, masterful replicas of trumpets, trombones, and horns are created – from the Renaissance to the Romantic period. Tradition and Innovation – with this philosophy, Egger dedicates itself to the relentless pursuit of perfect sound and the continuous improvement of each instrument. In close collaboration with leading institutions such as EMPA and the Bern University of the Arts, innovative research projects are carried out, delving deep into the secrets of historical instruments. Through the ongoing development of materials, techniques, and measurement methods, Egger produces instruments that not only bring history to life but are also valued by leading musicians worldwide for their unique tonal richness and musical expressiveness in historical performance practice.