Testimonials
“The cello Claire sold to my student has set the standard for what you could get for your $ in my studio!”
– David Evenchick, Cello Instructor, Suzuki String School of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
”You gave our 40 high school orchestra students a very wonderful opportunity to walk through your shop and see some incredible instruments and experience what a real instrument shop feels like. They learned so much and were so impressed and amazed, and talked about it all the way through June! …Thank you!”
-Greg & Julie Marston and students, Clinton High School, Clinton, IA
“Just a note to thank you for helping me learn more about searching out and feeling good about our violin investments! My husband and I are not players and this is often a huge challenge for us! We appreciate your willingness to help… Mostly we appreciate what you’re doing for our children and the children in the community of furthering their educational and performance opportunities! Thank you! Thank you! That’s a wonderful gift for everyone involved. We look forward to many more experiences.”
-B.H., Shaker Heights, OH
“You have made your mark in the world by putting high quality instruments into the hands of players and improving the sounds we make. Between you, Andrew and the rest of your staff, you make the world a more beautiful place and I’m glad to be part of this circle from maker to shop to performer to audience.”
–Randy Sabien, Owner of Fiddlehead Music Record Label; Jazz Violinist, Hayward, WI
Claire Givens Violin’s is a shop of wonder where you will always be treated with respect – as a musician – regardless of your current skill level; beginning student, advanced student, returning adult, or a established professional. They are sincerely interested in your musical interest, and within the magical walls of this shop, there always reside the best professionals, to provide you with the best possible guidance (some are world recognized), at the best possible price. They will always recommend instruments and accessories that are of guaranteed quality and that are right for you at your current level of musicianship. You will never feel as though what they have to offer is above your current level, or below your current level, and they will always help you grow into the next level (protecting your investment in the process). It is a unique experience that shouldn’t be missed!
-Leonard Mignerey
“The cello Claire sold to my student has set the standard for what you could get for your $ in my studio!”
–David Evenchick, Cello Instructor, Suzuki String School of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
“You have made your mark in the world by putting high quality instruments into the hands of players and improving the sounds we make. Between you, Andrew and the rest of your staff, you make the world a more beautiful place and I’m glad to be part of this circle from maker to shop to performer to audience.”
-Randy Sabien, Owner of Fiddlehead Music Record Label; Jazz Violinist, Hayward, WI
“Valerie and the violin are getting along fine, and she is growing from this marvelous intersection, as the violin continues to teach her other nuances of expression which great instruments are so capable. We wish to thank each of you for your impeccable service, inexhaustible patience, and faultless hospitality.”
-Stephen Nelson, Founder & Director Salem String Academy, Salem, OR
“Some of my Boston-area friends thought I was a bit crazy to trek all the way back to Minneapolis to search for my dream violin. But I’ve known Claire Givens Violins from the day it opened and I was sure I was making the right choice of getting a new violin from there. I want to thank all of you for your attentive help when I tried a million violins at the Cremona sale/exhibit. You were all so kind and worked so hard. You also knew the exact balance between offering suggestions and just letting me play for hours on end! I appreciated all your effort.”
-S.L.V., Andover, MA
“I want to convey my personal thanks to the team at Claire Givens for your considerate and generous help to me through the years in helping me acquire ‘the perfect’ instruments for my two daughters. We’ve been treated so well by everyone in each encounter and you helped me at a time when finances dictated that I scrutinize every penny. I always felt that you gave us equal service and stature with those who were spending ten times the amount we could… The girls will treasure their violins for the rest of the lives (and share them with their daughters), and I treasure the memories of the acquisition and their use.”
-J.C.M., Rapid City, SD
“Thank you for your wonderful patience and compassionate helpful staff.”
-RT, New York City
“I just received my Sartory and Hill bows in the mail, and once again I congratulate you on your beautiful work on them. It is really heartwarming to see them refurbished in this way. Thank you once again for your beautiful and painstaking work.”
– Michael Davis, Professor, School of Music, Ohio State University College of the Arts; world-class soloist; orchestra musician and recording artist, Columbus, OH
“I just received my bow! Excellent work and tremendous service!!”
-E.B., Adel, IA
“Just received my bow a few days ago and wanted to tell you that it is some of the best work I have seen in a long time. It looks fantastic and the hair is of top quality.”
–J.L., Dallas, TX
“I am so pleased with the sound of my violin since you worked on it that I decided to write and tell you about it. Being able to make an appointment with your shop for repairs and adjustments while I was in Minneapolis was a lifesaver. The sound just sparkles.”
-William C. Marshall, Assistant Principal Second Violin Boston Symphony (Retired in 1974), McAlester, OK
“My daughter mentioned how wonderful she thinks her violin sounds now and how very much easier it is to play. We both wanted to thank your talented technician for performing such delicate surgery with such fine results!”
-A.F., St. Paul, MN
“Since arriving in the Twin Cities in 1998, I have always turned to Claire’s wonderful shop for all my violin maintenance needs, especially for the expert assistance of Doug Lay, who always, with the utmost patience, knocks my bridge and post in just the right place to get it sounding its very best!”
– Steven Copes, Concertmaster, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
“My relationship with Claire Givens Violin Shop goes back to 1989 when I moved to the Twin Cities to become the concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra. Having the shop so conveniently located to Orchestra Hall meant that all dealings with bow rehairs, adjustments to my violin, and buying strings [and other accessories] was instantly accomplished and time sensitive to the demands of my job and that of my colleagues in the orchestra. The other very important long-term relationship in the shop for me is with Doug Lay, who has been the custodian of my violins, their health, the purity of their voices and an ease of resonance from top to bottom. He’s been my violin GP and I will fly to have him adjust my instrument no matter where I live.”
-Jorja Fleezanis, Concertmaster, Minnesota Orchestra: 1989-2009, Professor of Music (violin) and Henry A. Upper Chair in Orchestral Studies, Jacobs School of Music
“My relationship with Givens Violins began in 1986 when I moved to Minneapolis to be a member of the Minnesota Orchestra. Although I left Minneapolis in 1996, to this day I still bring my instrument to Givens Violins for any repairs or adjustments that need to be made. Your instrument is your voice and although there are many qualified Luthiers all over the country, when you manage to find a workshop that takes the care and has the knowledge to work with you on making your instrument fulfill its true potential, you must keep that relationship going. Douglas Lay has been working on my instrument since 1989 and while I now live in San Francisco and travel internationally on a regular basis, I will make the time to fly to Minneapolis for the detailed and meticulous work that I always receive from Doug at this workshop. I would not have anyone else work on my instrument.”
-Carla Maria Rodrigues, Principal Viola, San Francisco Opera
[After a recent rehair] “As always Givens Violins shop has provided service at the highest artistic level and it was completed when promised! We are indeed fortunate to have such a wonderful shop in our community staffed by craftspeople at the highest international standards to care for our precious instruments and bows. Thank you!”
-Mark Bjork, Professor of Violin and Pedagogy, University of Minnesota School of Music
“You are the best and I don’t like my students to go anywhere but to you! I can always count on your shop for well-chosen instruments and bows, set-up to the highest standards.”
–Brenda Villard, Villard Cello Studio
“Theodora Wynhoff performed a painstaking, careful dis-assembly and repair of cracks that were appearing in various locations on the body of the instrument…[Theodora] did EXCELLENT WORK on this instrument [100-year-old Mittenwald cello]. It is obvious that close Attention to Detail, and extreme Care and Expertise was devoted to this Instrument. The Sound is fabulous! I would recommend that anyone who needs a stringed instrument restored or repaired, bring it to Claire Givens Violins as it is not possible that greater Care, Responsibility, and Expertise could be found elsewhere!”
-Bryce Shimmon, restoration customer
“Your shop has been a wonderful find for me. I plan on being a lifelong customer.”
–Victoria Griswold, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; Quattra String Quartet, Indianapolis, IN
“We would like to express our respect for your professionalism – the fact that your violins were in perfect shape, the fact that you present your products and yourselves in such a professional manner, and your respectful treatment of your customers. We will be recommending you to all our friends in the Suzuki program in Rapid City.”
-G.D., Rapid City, SD
“Thank you so much for helping me find my ‘dream’ violin! I am so pleased with it and in every way, and I look forward to many years of playing! I also want to compliment you on your highly professional staff and services. It is a pleasure to be your customer!”
–J.L., Laramie, WY
“I have been playing my new violin for a week now, and I can’t imagine how I ever lived without it. Everything that comes out of it is a pleasure, from the easiest Twinkle to Mozart. Playing it is so much fun, it’s akin to eating chocolate at every meal! It’s like a dream-come-true. Thanks for helping to make this happen for me.”
-Marla Okner, Orchestra Teacher, Stillwater Minnesota Area Schools, Woodbury, MN
Claire Givens Violins is the finest shop in the country. I first visited the shop twenty years ago, and returned to find my dream career violin. They are experienced dealers and restorers and I’ve not yet met a shop so attentive to their clients’ needs and preferences. They truly seek to acquire the finest instruments and are experts at matching them to even the most discerning players like myself. I was immensely impressed when very early in the process, I received a phone call from Claire Givens herself to talk about the violins I had on trial and to discuss my interests and needs. I was amazed by their knowledgeable and efficient shipping procedures, attention to climate differences between where I live and where the violins ‘live’ in their shop, and ability to make any needed adjustments for playability and sound. Thank you, Claire Givens and all your staff, for helping me find and acquire such a beautiful violin. I will treasure it always, and it was a wonderful experience working with you all.
-Heide Riggs
“But thank you all even more for maintaining the kind of business we can depend on and trust with our treasured instruments. This means a great deal.”
-Mark Bjork, Associate Professor of Violin and Pedagogy, University of Minnesota School of Music
“Thanks to you and your sales staff for once again helping one of my students. He has been a very special student to me and I really wanted to see him get an affordable but great instrument to grow on. I am so glad to have you available to my students because I know I can trust that instruments are always set up correctly and ready to play. Thank you so much for your help!”
-Bonnie Knapp, Public School Teacher, Osseo Area Schools, MN
