Credentials
About Nickolas Yakutovich
Nickolas Yakutovich came to violin making through long personal curiosity, careful observation, and sustained practical work. While still in school, he built several electric guitars, already showing an interest in how musical instruments are constructed and how their physical form influences sound. In 1991, he made his first violin independently, working from books before he had the opportunity to study with an experienced master. From the beginning, his interest was not limited to appearance alone: he was drawn to the structure of the instrument, the logic of its construction, and the relationship between material, form, and tone.
In 1997, Nickolas met violin maker Alexander Vladimirovich Stasevich. That meeting marked the beginning of a serious professional formation. Under Stasevich's guidance, he learned the practical and technical foundations of violin making and repair, and over time their professional relationship developed into a lasting friendship. Through this line of teaching, Nickolas also inherited a respect for the traditions of the Italian school of violin making. In his understanding, this tradition was passed through Andrei Andreevich Chaikov, Denis Yarovoy, and ultimately the school of Giuseppe Fiorini, linking workshop knowledge across generations.
Before moving to Canada, Nickolas spent thirteen years in Minsk engaged in the repair of a large number of student instruments and bows, while also building 16 instruments, most of which were sold there. This work was carried out alongside his teaching at the university, with violin making and repair occupying his free time during the academic year and especially the summer breaks. That long period of disciplined practice shaped his working habits and deepened his attention to construction, tonal response, and the lasting stability of the instrument.
Nickolas is trained as a physicist, and this background continues to inform his work as a maker. In designing and building new instruments, he draws not only on workshop experience and traditional methods, but also on his understanding of physics and acoustics. For him, these are not abstract ideas but practical tools that help guide decisions about resonance, response, comfort, and structural balance. At the same time, he remains committed to the workshop tradition he received through his teacher and the broader lineage behind it.
When making new instruments, Nickolas considers beauty of tone, comfort for the player, and the long-term durability and reliability of the instrument to be among his central goals. He aims to create instruments that are expressive and satisfying to play, while also remaining dependable in the daily life of a musician.
Since 2019, in Montreal, Nickolas has resumed building violins and repairing instruments in his free time, alongside his main professional work. During this Canadian period, he has completed three additional violins and one viola, bringing the total number of instruments he has made to 20. This rhythm allows him to work attentively and without haste, giving proper care to each instrument and each repair. Today, his practice brings together commissioned violin making, repair, and adjustment work in an approach that combines traditional craftsmanship, acoustic understanding, and an individual response to the needs of each player and instrument.
Biographie en francais
Nickolas Yakutovich est venu a la lutherie par une curiosite personnelle ancienne, un sens de l'observation attentif et une longue pratique concrete. Des ses annees d'ecole, il a fabrique plusieurs guitares electriques, manifestant deja un interet pour la construction des instruments de musique et pour l'influence de leur forme sur le son. En 1991, il a realise seul son premier violon, a partir de livres, avant d'avoir la possibilite d'etudier aupres d'un maitre experimente. Des le depart, son interet ne se limitait pas a l'apparence exterieure de l'instrument: il s'attachait a sa structure, a la logique de sa construction et au lien entre materiau, forme et timbre.
En 1997, Nickolas a rencontre le maitre luthier Alexander Vladimirovich Stasevich. Cette rencontre a marque le debut d'une veritable formation professionnelle. Sous sa direction, il a appris les bases pratiques et techniques de la fabrication et de la reparation des instruments du quatuor, et avec le temps leur relation professionnelle est devenue une amitie durable. Par cette filiation, Nickolas a aussi recu le respect de la tradition de l'ecole italienne de lutherie. Selon cette transmission, cette tradition lui est parvenue a travers Andrei Andreevich Chaikov, Denis Yarovoy, puis l'ecole de Giuseppe Fiorini, prolongeant ainsi un savoir d'atelier transmis de generation en generation.
Avant de s'installer au Canada, Nickolas a passe treize annees a Minsk a reparer un grand nombre d'instruments d'etude et d'archets, tout en construisant 16 instruments, dont la plupart ont ete vendus sur place. Il menait cette activite parallelement a son enseignement a l'universite, consacrant a la lutherie son temps libre pendant l'annee universitaire et surtout les vacances d'ete. Cette longue periode de pratique disciplinee a forme chez lui une attention particuliere a la construction, a la reponse sonore et a la stabilite durable de l'instrument.
Nickolas est physicien de formation, et cette base continue de nourrir son travail de luthier. Dans la conception et la fabrication de nouveaux instruments, il s'appuie non seulement sur l'experience d'atelier et les methodes traditionnelles, mais aussi sur sa comprehension de la physique et de l'acoustique. Pour lui, il ne s'agit pas d'idees abstraites, mais d'outils concrets qui l'aident a guider ses choix en matiere de resonance, de reponse, de confort de jeu et d'equilibre structurel. En meme temps, il reste attache a la tradition d'atelier recue de son maitre et a la lignee plus large qui la soutient.
Dans la creation de nouveaux instruments, Nickolas considere comme essentiels la beaute du timbre, le confort du musicien, ainsi que la durabilite et la fiabilite a long terme de l'instrument. Son objectif est de creer des instruments expressifs, agreables a jouer et capables de rester stables et surs dans la vie musicale quotidienne.
Depuis 2019, a Montreal, Nickolas a repris la fabrication de violons et la reparation d'instruments sur son temps libre, en parallele de son activite professionnelle principale. Durant cette periode canadienne, il a realise trois violons supplementaires et un alto, portant a 20 le nombre total d'instruments qu'il a construits. Ce rythme lui permet de travailler avec attention et sans precipitation, en accordant a chaque instrument et a chaque reparation le soin necessaire. Aujourd'hui, sa pratique reunit la fabrication de violons sur commande, la reparation et les reglages, dans une approche qui associe artisanat traditionnel, comprehension acoustique et reponse individuelle aux besoins de chaque musicien et de chaque instrument.
Services
- Violin & viola repairs and restoration
- Bow rehairing and maintenance
- Custom violins & violas built to order
- Professional setup & tonal adjustments
Selected Training & Experience
- Apprenticeship with master luthiers (details available on request)
- Continued education in acoustics and conservation practices
- Workshop serving Montreal and surrounding region
Contact
Address: 5500 Snowdon, Montreal, H3X 1Y6, QC, Canada
Phone: +1 (450) 630-4770
Hours: Mon-Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-14:00