Scott Cao (pronounced Chow) is a violin maker (luthier), who is originally from China but now works in San Fransisco, USA.

In the mid-1970s, amidst Mao's cultural revolution, Cao was a farm worker. A violin-making teacher who visited the area offered him the opportunity of an apprenticeship.

When China opened its borders Cao went to the United States. He originally stayed in San Francisco where a violin dealer suggested that he should study repairing older instruments under a master luthier.

Scott Cao Violins is Cao's business, with a studio/workroom in the San Francisco's South Bay and the factory in China employing 150 people. The company makes affordable instruments and bows. Violins made by is own hand are priced around US $9,000 and are considered to be comparable to instruments worth many times more.

His best instruments are meticulous copies of famous Stradivari and Guarneri designs.

His instruments are known to have been owned or played by:

• Nigel Kennedy
• Mark Volkert - concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony

External link

www.scottcaoviolins.com