6/1/10: Rzepka Strings Workshop is Moving

The new workshop will be in the Acoustic Artisans building at One Forest Avenue near the corner of Forest Ave. and Congress St. Stop by and say hello after June 1st! 

5/5/10: Nathan Kolosko demos guitars for Rzepka Strings website

Listen to Portland-based guitarist Nathan Kolosko play Torroba and Weiss on the latest cedar and spruce-top guitars.

4/24/2010: Rzepka Strings Opening Celebration a Hit with Portland's Classical Guitar Community

Portland's Mayo Street Arts Center was abuzz with musicians and string instrument enthusiasts Saturday there to test-drive the latest classical guitars and violas da gamba from Toby Rzepka. The highlights of the afternoon were two gorgeous sets played by Portland-based guitarists John Johnstone and Nathan Kolosko. Excellent food, drink (and of course people!) helped make the event a great success. View photos here.

4/24/2010: Rzepka Strings  Opening Celebration

Join us on Saturday, April 24th for a celebration of instrument making and music. Click here for details.

11/2009: Rzepka Aeolian Harps appear in Boston University's Arts & Sciences Magazine

Rzepka Aeolian harps appear alongside an article about the history of the instrument in England. Read the article here

10/2009: New Long-String-Length Aeolian Harp Introduced

The Sail Harp, a seven-foot tall, vertically mounted wind harp (below), is designed to adjust to shifting wind conditions using a canvas sail and a swivel bearing ebedded in its base. The deep and complex tones produced by this 38-string instrument create a rich tapestry of rising and falling harmonic chords for any breezy outdoor setting.

2/2009: Rzepka viol appears in The Strad

English string magazine The Strad will be publishing images of a 2008 Rzepka 7-string viol after Romaine Cheron in its March, 2009 issue as part of an article about the Rowan Armour-Brown Memorial Trust Fund and its grantees.

1/2009: Rowan Armour-Brown Trust features Rzepka Viol on cover of 2009 brochure

A UK organization dedicated to supporting emerging luthiers, the RAB Trust will feature an image of purfling being inlayed in a fluer-des-lis motif on a Rzepka bass viol for the cover of its 2009 brochure.

1/2009: Boston University commissions Aeolian harp for romanticist scholar

The BU English Department has commissioned an Aeolian harp on behalf of a professor who will be retiring in 2009. The wind harp was a muse of the English Romanticists, as evidenced by Coleridge's poem "The Aeolian Harp".

12/2008: Peter Greer orders double-top Rzepka guitar

New Hampshire player and collector Peter Greer has commissioned the first Rzepka double-top guitar, featuring a soundboard made from two layers of spruce with a layer of nomex in between. Nomex is a lightweight composite made for use in the aerospace industry, and has become a mainstay of the double-top classical guitar over the last ten years.

12/2008: Rzepka Strings opens new workshop in Portland, Maine

Toby Rzepka's new workshop is up and running on Parris St. in downtown Portland, Maine, specializing in viola da gamba, modern classical guitar and the aeolian harp. Shop visits can be arranged by appointment.

11/2008: Alison Crum plays Rzepka viol

London-based viol player, teacher and president of the Viola da Gamba Society, Alison Crum performed at the 2008 Greenwich Early Music Festival on a 2008 Rzepka 7-string bass viol.

7/2008: Toby Rzepka wins West Dean College’s President’s Prize

The President's Prize is awarded annually to one West Dean College student for excellence in research and craftsmanship. Toby Rzepka won this award for his retro-designing of a severely altered 1629 Henry Jaye bass viol. His copy reflects the probable state of the original instrument before it was tampered with in the 18th Century.