Scott Hackleman has been working on the classical musical instruments of India for more than 40 years.
He started studying sitar in 1969. When he began formal study in 1974 with Amiya Dasgupta, a disciple of Ravi Shankar, he was introduced to sitar repair and jawari when staying after his lessons and sitting with Amiya's friend Nodu Mullick (the man attributed with building Ravi Shankar's sitar).
He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sitar Performance from California Institute of the Arts in 1985. In 1987 he was awarded a grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies, funded through the Smithsonian and sponsored by Ravi Shankar, to live in India and document his apprenticeship with a master instrument maker there.
It was at that time he studied with Kartar Chand in Paharganj and sat with Murari Adhikari in Kolkata.
A brief summary of this experience was published in the Journal of the Guild of American Luthiers, Number 67, Fall 2002.
He has worked on hundreds of sitars and other Indian instruments since returning from India and continues to develop his skills not only in repair and set-up, but in building these instruments as well.
He has worked on the instruments of many professional musicians, teachers, students and organizations over the years including Ravi Shankar, Shubho Shankar, Ry Cooder, Paul Livingstone, UCLA, UCSB, CalArts, Pomona College and SRF to name a few.
From his shop in Point Roberts Washington Scott builds custom bespoke Musical Instruments, with a particular focus on the Personal Tambura, repairs & services Indian Classical instruments sent to him from all over the continent and makes regular trips to California to service the sitars of UCLA, UCSB and others.
He started studying sitar in 1969. When he began formal study in 1974 with Amiya Dasgupta, a disciple of Ravi Shankar, he was introduced to sitar repair and jawari when staying after his lessons and sitting with Amiya's friend Nodu Mullick (the man attributed with building Ravi Shankar's sitar).
He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sitar Performance from California Institute of the Arts in 1985. In 1987 he was awarded a grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies, funded through the Smithsonian and sponsored by Ravi Shankar, to live in India and document his apprenticeship with a master instrument maker there.
It was at that time he studied with Kartar Chand in Paharganj and sat with Murari Adhikari in Kolkata.
A brief summary of this experience was published in the Journal of the Guild of American Luthiers, Number 67, Fall 2002.
He has worked on hundreds of sitars and other Indian instruments since returning from India and continues to develop his skills not only in repair and set-up, but in building these instruments as well.
He has worked on the instruments of many professional musicians, teachers, students and organizations over the years including Ravi Shankar, Shubho Shankar, Ry Cooder, Paul Livingstone, UCLA, UCSB, CalArts, Pomona College and SRF to name a few.
From his shop in Point Roberts Washington Scott builds custom bespoke Musical Instruments, with a particular focus on the Personal Tambura, repairs & services Indian Classical instruments sent to him from all over the continent and makes regular trips to California to service the sitars of UCLA, UCSB and others.