Biography

Jaap Bolink was born in 1946 in Enschede, son of the painter-violinmaker Jan Hendrik Bolink. In 1959 he made his first violin with help of his father. Bolink went to the violinmakerschool in Mittenwald where he finished his study in 1967. In 1967 he married the violinmaker Annelies Steinhauer. In 1969 they set up a violinworkshop in Amsterdam. Meanwhile he attended to the masterclass of Konrad Leonhardt, which he finished with not only the mastertitle but also with a gold medal.

At the moment Bolink's workshop is located in Hilversum. He makes all his violins of at least twenty years old wood.