Paul J. Bartel laid the foundation for the Baroque Violin Shop on a kitchen table in Oxford, OH. At this table, he would repair and restore stringed instruments in his time away from his music education studies at Miami University. After graduating in 1972 with his BFA in music education, Paul continued his “luthier” work in the basement of his home in Brookville, IN while also serving as the full-time orchestra director at Finneytown High School in Cincinnati, OH. In 1974 he decided to start a business on the side and the Baroque Violin Shop came into existence.
After seven years of teaching orchestra and running the violin shop on the side, Paul wanted to pursue his hobby and passion full time. Paul saw an opportunity for the violin shop to support students and music teachers in the Cincinnati area. As a teacher, he had seen first-hand how low-quality instruments hampered students and teachers from being their best. He was also aware of how difficult it could be for repairs to be completed quickly and affordably under the constraints of tight budgets. Paul’s solution was that the Baroque Violin Shop would rent/sell only high-quality instruments to students and schools at affordable prices and provide full luthier services to keep them in playing condition.
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