William Stodart square piano ca. 1822 full restoration begun October 2025
Will update. This instrument is in my Pennsylvania workshop. Work on it will pause from November through May.
Longman & Broderip Single Manual Harpsichord 1787 8’8’4′
Much of the summer and into Fall of 2025 was spent working on a single manual harpsichord, Longman & Broderip #660, 1787. You can find its lineage in the online Boalch database. This beauty came to Lichtfield Connecticut from London not long after it was made. The names of owners and those who have worked on it can be found on the lowest key. L&B #660 had been restored by Paul Irvin some 30 years ago, and was due for more love. It came to me after spending a short time in another restoration shop, which had restrung the two 8’s registers in non-historic wire and quilled the two 8′ jacks with black delrin. The 4′ had not been installed/strung by either Irvin or the more recent shop. Note that there is not and never has been a buff type of stop. Time had taken its toll on the wood of the case and trim moldings. A hinge had broken, the keyboard showed a checkered history of replacement keytops and…well, let’s just say again that I spent much time working on the instrument from June through September! I restrung the instrument with Stephen Birkett’s historic wire after the two of […]
Unfretted Older ZHI Clavichord Upgrade
This instrument entered my workshop for the third time! I first encountered it many years ago and made some repairs in the owner’s home. Later, they were moving and asked me to take it on consignment. I made some more improvements and it sold, but noted to myself that someday it deserved more. Well, it came back after many happy years with that buyer, so it was time to improve it more before sending it on to the next buyer. This design had some major issues. For one, each pair strings for a single pitch/note looped around the hitchpin instead of having two separate hitchpins. In the bass, the hitchpin rail was thin and of a weak material that had begun to fail, so the hitchpins would lean forward and the strings slide off. I mapped the string routing carefully (very critical for clavichords) and changed the single hitchpin set up for the first octave to double hitchpins. The case was also cupping significantly, an inherent problem with the case design and construction. I added a custom iron T-bar under the bottom board, painted to match the wood of the bottom board. While it added significant weight, the instrument should […]
Restoration of Senftleben Virginal / Spinet
Late Spring 2025: This little instrument was the darling of a Charleston area family since it was new many decades ago. I had honestly never seen one of these before, nor heard of the firm. There was a lot of problem solving to do. It received many jack repairs, leather plectra, new strings, new soft felt for the drop down moderator, along with the full spa treatment for keyboard, case, soundboard, etc. Initially the low bass tone proved unsatisfactory, so Stephen Birkett made some custom twined strings for the bottom several notes. They proved a massive success!
Restoration of Flemish single by Ferdinand Pointer for IPC Savannah
As soon as the server will let me update photos, you can see the restored Flemish Single by Ferdinand Pointer project completed this spring (2025).
The instrument had suffered greatly in high humidity and required substantial case and soundboard repairs, as well as cosmetics. The case had been bashed about a bit, and the soundboard had splits and movement requiring repairs as well as infilling the soundboard decor. The Flemish papers on the lid were compromised in sections, so replacement bits were carefully fit in and stained to match the rest (with tea!). Black filigree damaged on the original were filled in by hand.
Converted into a 415/550 transposer. Restrung with Birkett wire (yum!), regulations, etc. etc., the full works.
Ugly duckling into singing swan!
Annual Meeting of the American Musical Instrument Society, June 4-7, Savannah, GA
Anne served as Program Chair, thankfully with competent committee members to assist, especially the local arrangements people at Georgia Southern University, the Georgia Southern University Museum, and the Gretsch company!.
For more information: https://www.amis.org/2025-meeting
Savannah Baroque concert: “A Baroque Evening: European Travels”, March 21, 2025
Anne and other members of her ensemble, Savannah Baroque, were special guests performing at the Ford Plantation Club in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Tina Zenker Williams, soprano; Marcy Brenner, viola da gamba; Erika Andres, baroque flute. Works by Purcell, Marais, J.S Bach, Jacquet de la Guerre, and Loeillet were performed.
Concerts with The Goliards, February 8th and 9th, 2025, Les Trouveres
Anne performed on sinfonye and portativ with the Goliards in “Les Trouveres” under the leadership of John Hillenbrand, vielles along with Erika Andres, recorders, Marcy Brenner, viols, Cuffy Sullivan and Sheila Berg, vocals. The program was performed at St. Francis of the Islands Episcopal Church and St. George Episcopal Church, both in Savannah, Georgia.
Pictured here is my Wolkenstayn portativ acquired a few months before the concerts.
“Music for a While”, Savannah Baroque Concert, Feb. 28, 2025, St. Andrew’s Anglican Church
Anne; along with Erika Andres, baroque flute; Tina Zenker Williams, soprano; and Carver Blanchard, lute performed works by Purcell, Dowland, Campion, Byrd, Simpson, Handel, Oswald, J.C. Bach, Thomas Arne, and Mary Barthemon Young at the lovely and intimate venue of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Savannah, Georgia. Ruckers style harpsichord by Anne Acker 1992.
WRUU, Savannah Music Local and Sustainable: Interview with Dave Lake
Kathleen Turner, Leah Dutton, and myself joined Dave Lake of WRUU about our Sept. 26th Concert for Bach Ascending. You can read about the concert here: https://wp.me/p5e5DG-13
and hear the interview: https://www.wruu.org/broadcasts/53386