When asked by a high-school teacher whether she preferred to “become Caesar or Caesar’s chef”, Ester realised that she could do something noble and emotional in life, yet staying in the background rather than being on stage. She decided to evolve her passion and sensitivity for sounds into learning a craft and becoming a violin maker. After her studies in Bari and Milan, she spent years perfecting her craft thanks to the guidance of several masters, in Italy and abroad, and learning how to create and restore not just violins but also cellos, violas, gambas and double basses. Today, she runs one of the few violin making workshops in the Apulia region, a territory where this craft is rare but where music is key, as “it represents a social redemption for many young people”.
Ester Passiatore
