Peter Paul Prier

Peter Paul Prier began playing the violin when he was 8 years old, growing up in Germany. He studied violin making while he was a teenager and in 1959 set out to America to open his own violin shop. Within five years he formed what is now the Peter Paul Prier Violin Shop in Salt Lake City. In 1972 he established the Violin Making School of America followed by the Bow Making School of America in 1998. Peter also had a significant role in the creation of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers as well as the Violin Makers Society. Nearly 80 of his graduating students have opened their own violin shops in cities across the United States. Can you think of any other person who influenced the establishing of so many independent music retail stores?