Dereck Coons is a master luthier with over 20 years of experience.
Dereck began his journey at Indiana University's prestigious Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana 1996. While there, he studied violin making with Program Director Thomas Sparks, as well as classical guitar performance with Petar Jancovic.
Dereck excelled in the program and began building customized instruments for both faculty and students at the university. He also served as a Teaching Assistant in the violin making program at IU, where he was able to mentor luthiers-in-training. Dereck later became an apprentice at Casa del Sol Violin Shop in Indianapolis for three years, which allowed him to fine tune his skills in stringed repairs and restorations under the supervision of Master luthier, Al Stancel.
He resided in England for nearly two years, where he ran his own workshop building stringed instruments including violin, viola, cello, and bass. After returning to the United States Dereck spent 6 years at Atlantic Strings Violin Shop in Melbourne Florida where we worked as the Manager and primary luthier for shop owner, Allen Gatchell.
Violin Shop Tampa was created and opened in 2013 with business partner Ethan Morency and has been a very valuable and successful endeavor. Serving the Tampa Bay area for over eight years has been the honor of both owners.
Dereck has had the opportunity to work with many world class musicians over the years, and also enjoys mentoring high-school and college students. He continues to broaden his own expertise by attending training seminars and courses both in instrument repair, making, design and to broaden his business management knowledge base.
“It was an incredible experience working with Dereck. He’s a great listener and was very patient with my requests. With my new violin, I now feel as if I am hitting my potential.”
— Cynthia Lakewood
