• Most Respected Classical Music Platform
  • #classicalForever
TOP
Tyler Thackray's Experimental Instagram Account To Destroy Violins - image attachment

Tyler Thackray's Experimental Instagram Account To Destroy Violins

Better known as @violintorture on Instagram, Thackray self-described himself as “engineer by day, experimental luthier by night”

 

With over 13,000 followers on Instagram, Tyler Thackray has been gaining traction on the app by sharing content of his unique violins and the experiments in which he puts them through.

From putting a violin in the dishwasher to using one as a beehive, his goal is to “disrupt the long-held standards of what a violin should be.”

Thackray told us he one day hopes to become a skilled luthier, but in the meantime, enjoys seeing people’s reaction to him deviating from the norm.

“I want people to think about violin in a different way, and realize it is not as fragile as we are told,” he said. “I want to show that luthiery can be fun… my statement is made by deviating to the extreme and challenging the long-held belief of what a violin should be.”

 

 

“Right now, I am a successful Android Engineer in the Bay area, previously working at top companies like Netflix,” Thackray told VC. “My entire life has been a combination of art, music, and technology; in my high school metal band I did the website, CDs, and even made a video game.”

In high school, he quickly fell in love with the upright bass, but at the time, didn’t have the money or space. Thackray went to the Rochester Institute of Technology for Computer Engineering, with hopes to build synthesizers, but shifted to mobile phone software.

“Fast forward to Covid — I had just moved to a house with a garage and now had a ton of disposable income, so I figured it would be a good time to get into violin repair,” Thackray said. “I figured violins would be a better starting place, as upright basses are just too big and expensive.”

“Pretty quickly I realized violin repair was more like violin torture, and my Instagram was born! Early on someone suggested combining a ukulele with a violin, and after making that hybrid I knew there was no turning back.”

 

 

You can see more of Thackray’s work on his Instagram, @violintorture.

upcoming events

may 2025

12mayAll Day03junPrague Spring International Music Festival(All Day) Rudolfinum, Alšovo nábř. 79/12, 110 00 Staré město-Staré Město, CzechiaEvent Type :Other

12mayAll Day03junPrague Spring International Cello Competition(All Day) Rudolfinum, Alšovo nábř. 79/12, 110 00 Staré město-Staré Město, CzechiaEvent Type :competitions Event TagsPrague Spring International Violin Competition,violin competition

17mayAll Day18Stulberg International String Competition(All Day) Dalton Center Recital Hall at Western Michigan University, 1300 Theatre Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49008Event Type :competitions Event Tagscompetition,Stulberg International String Competition

24mayAll Day08junSendai International Violin Competition(All Day) Hitachi Systems Hall Sendai (Sendai City Youth Cultural Center), 3-27-5, Asahigaoka, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Pref., 981-0904, JapanEvent Type :competitions Event Tagscompetition,violin

25mayAll Day06junMontreal International Voice Competition(All Day) Event Type :competitions Event TagsMontreal International Piano Competition,Piano Competition

june 2025

01junAll Day13International Conducting Competition Rotterdam - Final Round(All Day) de Doelen, Schouwburgplein 50 3012 CL RotterdamEvent Type :competitions Event Tagscompetition,conductor

06junAll Day12Khachaturian International Conducting Competition(All Day) Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall, 46 Mesrop Mashtots Ave, Yerevan, ArmeniaEvent Type :competitions Event TagsKhachaturian International Competition,violin competition

14junAll Day29Sendai International Piano Competition(All Day) Hitachi Systems Hall Sendai (Sendai City Youth Cultural Center), 3-27-5, Asahigaoka, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Pref., 981-0904, JapanEvent Type :competitions Event Tagscompetition,piano

CONTACT US
x

Get ALL our latest conveniently by EMAIL

Our newsletter is trusted by over 100,000+ industry professionals around the world

We deliver news straight to your inbox and will never share your data.
You'll never miss a beat!

click left click right