Paul Martin Siefried

February 18, 1950 - November 28, 2019

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Paul Martin Siefried was a premier restorer of bows for musical instruments for over four decades, servicing a worldwide clientele. For many years he worked from an outbuilding of the Kuhn house on Jefferson Street, which he lovingly restored, and later from a storefront Uptown at the corner of Lawrence and Polk Streets. Here people would stop and gaze through the window to watch him work, surely having no idea that the bow in his hands might be worth upwards of a quarter of a million dollars.

Paul’s father was a WWII aviator and artist, from whom Paul learned to fly before he could legally solo and from whom he also gained a keen eye for form and line. It was his handcrafted leather work that initially brought him to the notice of a San Francisco violin shop around 1970, and Paul soon moved to the premier violin shop on the West Coast, Hans Weisshaar in LA. At this shop he was given a free hand to develop his own making and restoration techniques.

While Paul became a very, very good bowmaker, it was his restoration work that gained a legendary status in the violin world.

Paul had numerous other interests, including all types of woodworking, aviation, automobiles, boating, and he was a voracious reader. He was incredibly well informed and articulate on numerous subjects, and always up for learning more. He was a great colleague (and though he would never have said such a thing, he had few peers), a wonderful mentor and teacher, a valued and trusted resource to many musicians and collectors, and a jovial and open friend to all.

Memorial service to be announced in the springtime.