JAVS Summer 1998

21

Dal ton: o what brought you ro leave rhe Pearce Music Company and to strike our on your own? There must have been a certain risk in rhat and, after all, Wes Pearce had taken good care of you. Prier: There was a fellow by the name of Livi rree just across and down rhe street from Pearce's. He had a lirrle violin shop with gui tars, harmonicas, and such. Bur he was an eighry-four-year-old man. I did some repair work for him to help him out a little, and we became good friends. One day he said, "You know, this could all be yours." That was a motivation to think and perhaps do some thing about ir. On 4 August 1965, five years and two months afrer arriving in Salr Lake, I hung out my shingle ar that place on 144 East 200 South Srreer. The business starred grow ing, and I hired assistants. We needed more room, so when rhe Mexican restaurant , El Charro, next door moved, I purchased ir, broke a hole through the wall and moved part of the operation in. Later, still expanding, we moved to the present location at 308 East 200 South, but just a single unit, a two-story house. I was passing by the place when a man was hanging out a "For Sale" sign in the window. I stopped, ran inside, and said, "' 'm buying this. " He said, "You don't even know what I'm asking for ir. " I said, "' 'm buying ir. " "Well , I don't know if you want to purchase at $96,000." I knew these houses were selling for about $40,000. I asked, "Well, what are you going to do for me for that amount of money?" He said, "Well , I'm going ro put a fence around

it, lay some concrete, put on a new roof, install air conditioning, and I 'm going to put in a new hearing system. " The more he talked, the more interesting ir became to me, and we were able ro come to terms.

D al ton: Who were some of your earliest assistants?

Prier: Ray Miller had moved over from Pearce, and sometime later afrer Wes Pearce closed his business, one of his repairmen , Don Eklund, joined us, then John Nebeker. Ar this rime it was sales and repairs with some building going on in rhe upstairs rooms.

A Violin-Making School

Dalton: When did the brash idea occur to you to starr a violin-making school? Erst of all, how many violin-making schools are there in the world? I imagine you could count them on one hand . Prier: That's right; there are about five. Three fellows walked into my shop one day in 1968 and said, "We would like to learn how to make violins. " They were David Birkedahl, Kevin Smith, and Billy Wolf. Billy was a sur geon's son who could play the guitar very well and wanted to build. I said , "That 's a very grand idea, a wonderful idea. Bur I can't reach you because there isn't any rime. I have to make a Living." They trorred off and I rhoughr the marrer was closed. A year larer, the same three young men came in again and asked me what I had decided about their requesr. This rime I

thought maybe there is something ro be done here. Afrer all , rhere was no other violin-making school in this country. Why nor? D alto n : Bur sure ly there were instruments being built in ew - York, Chicago, and some of rhe other large cultural centers.

Prier: Yes, bur nor a regular violin making school with a set curricu- ==;:;;;;;;;;~iiii!=::=~ lum of daily studies over a period

of years. Some of the players in

The Violin Making School ofAmerica