David H. Forbes is a decorated bowmaker and member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, for which he also served on the board. He is a member of the Violin Society of America and has been the Director of the Oberlin Bow Making Workshops for the VSA since 2005.

David’s awards include two gold medals and numerous certificates of merit in VSA competitions, the City of Paris competition, and the Manchester Cello Festival. He also served as a bow judge at the VSA International Competition in 2012.

David has almost 40 years of expertise and crafted close to 800 bows since embarking on the vocation in the early 1980’s. He was trained by William Salchow in New York and Stephane Thomachot in Paris.

This viola bow represents his recent work, a stunning personal model with effortless tracking; strong, supple, and highly responsive. Balanced 68.6 grams; Bow # 787, finished with silver tinsel on silk winding and boxwood tip on a carbon fiber facing.