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PrintThe Tulsa Violin Shop's doctor is on call
Lou Lynch, with help from his musician friends, offers a valuable service for local musicians — providing a voice for their instruments.
The cellos along the wall stand as a chorus line of stained wood brunettes, redheads and the occasional muddy blonde. Their curvaceous bodies have aged in various degrees, and some are more attractive than others. When prompted, each instrument, as unique as its player, speaks with its own accent, own tone. For now, however, they wait inside Tulsa Violin Shop, 220 N. Main St., for repair, for play, for the moment to communicate.
“Most people are attracted to that which speaks to them,” says cellist Lou Lynch, owner of Tulsa Violin Shop. “If you allow the process to play out, you end up going to the instrument which is best for you.”
Like the chemistry found between new best friends, musicians bond with their instrument — an artistic creation of wood and string and bow. Life gives instruments character, much like humans, Lynch says. Keeping those stringed instruments alive and healthy has been Lynch’s passion since opening his shop May 1, 1996.
“It’s a very exciting business,” says Lynch, whose clientele comes from Tulsa, Arkansas, Kansas and even other countries. “You never know when a very fine instrument will come into the shop. There is gratification in working on someone’s instrument and them going away pleased at what you’ve done. That’s what it’s all about.” 
Lynch’s relationship with cellos began at age 16. He worked as a full-time musician, playing in symphonies from Aspen, Colo., to Oregon. Two years ago he bought a 1735 Austrian cello, whose maker was commissioned to create a violin for Mozart.
Appreciation for his instrument made repair work a hobby. The hobby grew as Lynch began repairing instruments for his students as well. Then he met Amos Hargrave, whom Lynch calls his “mentor,” and the hobby became a job.
Hargrave, an engineer at heart, has worked at the notable Jacques Francais Rare Violins shop on 57th Street in New York and Eric Chapman Violins during the owner’s tenure as president of the Violin Society of America. Hargrave and Lynch met at the Aspen Music Festival, bonding over their love of stringed instruments.
Lynch, who had lived in Tulsa in the 1980s as a musician for the Tulsa Philharmonic, returned here in 1995 and opened the violin shop the next year.
“As a player, I knew the demand was here,” Lynch says. “There wasn’t a full-service shop or anyone who could work at a highly professional level on an instrument.”
Since the opening of Tulsa Violin Shop, Hargrave also has offered his tutelage and technical support.
“Lou has accumulated a lot of experience. He’s got good bench skills. And he’s knowledgeable about the instrument and the needs of the musicians,” says Hargrave, who says Tulsa Violin Shop has an element of “whimsy” about it.
Since opening, Tulsa Violin Shop has offered highly skilled and intricate repair work to musicians in the area, from adults to students in various stringed instrument programs at Union, Broken Arrow and Jenks schools, as well as private schools such as Holland Hall and Cascia Hall. 
Although there are slow times, the store’s business remains steady and thriving. Lynch surrounds himself with musicians such as Doug Fletcher, who handles the bookkeeping and plays second-seat trombone for the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra (TSO), and Phil Wachowski, who also repairs instruments and is a violist for TSO.
When not providing quality repair work for Tulsans, Lynch performs with TSO, Brady Arts Quartet, Trio Alesky, Signature Symphony, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Oratorio Chorus and others.
Lynch says he enjoys sharing his love of the art form through his own musical skills and through equipping other musicians, allowing their instruments to speak for themselves.
“Music is a language that defines itself,” Lynch says. “If you try to verbalize it, it’s not going to translate.”
For more information, visit Tulsa Violin Shop at www.tulsaviolin.com.
