Maker Background
Jose Catoira was born in Galicia, Spain in 1981 in a family of artisan builders. Got involved in traditional music at a young age, playing the bagpipes and flutes in numerous bands and ensembles.
His time is spent between his home workshop in A Coruña, Spain and Cremona, where he is a member of the Lodi Liutai Collectivo with a laboratorio in the historic centre of violin making, where he is fully focused on the making of new instruments.
After experimenting with bagpipes and flutes, later on José picked up the mandolin as his main instrument. Started tinkering with instrument making at 16 years old and at 18 years old started learning how to make celtic harps and early stringed instruments. Following this he moved to England and studied at the Newark School of Violín Making, obtaining an “Upper Merit” diploma upon completing the course. Catoira has worked in various workshops in England, USA and Spain and has taken part since 2010 in the Oberlin Violín Makers Workshop in Ohio, USA organised by the Violín Society of America. His time is spent between his home workshop in A Coruña, Spain and Cremona, where he is is a member of the Lodi Liutai Collectivo with a laboratorio in the historic centre of violin making, where he is fully focused on the making of new instruments.
