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1833 Cook St
(Bottom floor of the retail store)
Victoria, BC V8T 3P5
250-389-1988 (ask for the string department)
Larsen Music has a full string workshop in our retail store. We offer sales of high-quality string instruments, all set-up and prepared by our qualified string department staff. In addition, we offer instruments for rent, and have an extensive repair shop. We service all makes and models of violins, violas, cellos and double basses, from student to professional, and offer bow re-hairs using the finest quality bow hair. Our String shop staff set up all of our student model violins before they are rented, ensuring that you, our customers, have the best quality string instruments available on Vancouver Island
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The History of Larsen Music Strings
On surveying the String situation in Victoria three years back, we determined that generally the String World was not being adequately served. In particular, school and private students and their teachers were not being offered the service and instrument quality needed to maintain and encourage the growth of string players. Consequently, we decided to provide more comprehensive service.
To this end the much respected Kim Tipper joined us to provide this service and we enjoyed great response and support from the String Community. We had such success that Kim had little time to devote to his great passion, working with top professionals and their instruments, so recently he set up his own shop in Bastion Square.
After a time of transition we now have our independent string shop on the lower floor of Larsen Music, which has become not only a rental and retail string store, but a place where string education is paramount! We now have information about violins, rosin and bow hair, as well as activities for kids. Our business compliments that of Kim Tipper's shop, and our string repair staff work with Kim on a regular basis.
We encourage you to visit our workshop at Larsen Music, where Laura Clement and Galen Hartley work to serve you here on Vancouver Island.
We'd like you to know that we are devoting substantial time to the preparation of our Violins, Violas, Cellos and Double Basses for rental or purchase. We spend on average 3 to 4 hours on all of our rental violins and violas, including the new ones, to ensure they are in optimum playing condition. We will continue including, at no charge, cello end pin stoppers and violin shoulder rests with all our string rentals.
We offer professional bow rehairing using the world's finest horsehair from Michael T. Sowden and Sons in England. http://www.sowden.co.uk/ Call ahead or drop off your bow, and we can have it rehaired for you for the next day. We also rehair student bows and carry many affordable student bows.
Every year, in September, we participate in Super Saturday which introduces Victoria's elementary students to the basics of violin, viola, cello playing and their care. This summer we will be returning to Fiddleworks Fiddle Camp on Saltspring Island http://www.fiddleworks.ca/ to provide instruments, bow rehairs, and repairs to the participants. We believe in cultivating music in the community, and are proud to help teachers and students make music by providing excellent repair services, bow rehairs and the highest quality rentals.
We look forward to seeing you at Larsen Music and to working with you to further develop the World of Strings.
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Our
Strings Team
 Galen
Hartley - String
Repair
A
Victoria native, Galen has been with Larsen Music for the past 8 years!
An accomplished guitarist, Galen transferred down to the string department
where he now repairs and sets-up violins, violas and cellos and delves
into bass repair with Paul Laverick. He plays in the local band Elephant
Island, elephantisland.net
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 Laura Clement - String Repair
Originally from the Sunshine Coast, Laura moved to Victoria to attend UVic. While finishing her degree, Laura began her apprenticeship with Kim Tipper. She devotes her time to violin set-up and repair, with a special interest in cellos and bow rehairing. She plays a Sinfonica cello and her grandfather's fiddle.
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 Aidan Osborne- Junior Apprentice
Aidan
Osborne is a young Victoria fiddler. He loves playing fiddle and classical
violin. He takes fiddle lessons from the amazing
Daniel Lapp and is a member of Daniel's top B.C. Fiddle Orchestra
Ensemble, which is really fun. His violin teacher is Mieka Kohut, who
is a violist in the Victoria Symphony, and she is great! When not playing
his violin or doing school work, Aidan can be found cleaning, fixing,
adjusting and testing violins in the String Department.
 Emma
Hoyne - Junior Apprentice
Emma
works in the Larsen Music string department as one of our junior apprentices.
Her job for the most part is to fix up all the rental returns so they
are in perfect playing condition. Emma has been playing violin for 7
years and she loves it! She plays as a first violinist in the Prelude
Orchestra, and also plays the alto saxophone in her school jazz band
and tenor saxophone in concert band. Emma says "music is the best
part of my life and I will never let it go. If anyone has the chance
to play music, it would be one of the best opportunities of their life."
 Jessica
Tamura-Wells - Junior Apprentice
Jessica first entered the world of music with the piano and followed
that with beginning violin and trombone a few years later. Having just
graduated high school, she has spent the summer in the string department
learning about violin maintenance and repair. She hopes to expand her
musical knowledge through playing fiddle and working in the strings
department while studying science at UVic.
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