Oleg Ivanyschuk, luthier

Oleg Ivanyschuk, master craftsman of violins, violas, cellos and violoncellos da spalla, as well as an experienced musician, was born in the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk in 1971. He started playing music at the age of 9 and for the first 8 years, he played the violin and then the classical guitar later receiving higher musical education as a double bass player. He worked as a double bass player in the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra (Ukraine) and in various chamber orchestras. In 1999 he emigrated to the United States, where he became interested in baroque music and its performance on early instruments. In 2003 he returned to Europe, where he entered the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, specialising in viola da gamba, and in the same year he created his first instrument (viola da gamba) in the workshop of the Belgian luthier Bruno Sporq.

Since 2005 he has been living in Spain, where he founded his own workshop known today as Oleg Ivanyschuk Violins. Oleg studied string instrument design and manufacture with Dmitry Badiarov in The Hague (The Netherlands) and was his assistant. He has been a member of the Authentic Instrument Makers Academy since 2018.

Oleg Ivanyschuk creates high-end instruments such as violins, violas, cellos, as well as violoncellos da spalla, for clients all over the world, using the acoustic design method of the great masters of the 17th and 18th centuries, based on harmonic proportions.

Oleg now lives in the northern Spanish city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, where he divides his time between instrument making and musical performance. He also organises customised violin making courses for students from all over the world.