Oleg Semenukha
He has devoted himself to the craft of violin making for over thirty years — since 2009 in his own workshop in Kladno, in the tradition of the old Cremonese school.
The road to violin making
Master violin maker Oleg Semenukha was born in Ukraine in 1974. From 1989–1993 he studied art carving and then, from 1995–2002, sculpture at the Academy of Arts in Lviv. He learned the foundations of violin making in Ukraine, where he built his first violin.
He first came to the Czech Republic in 1996, where he worked for a year at a firm making bowed instruments. It was then that he decided to become a violin maker. After finishing his studies in Lviv he returned to the Czech Republic in 2004 and spent another five years at the same firm, making violins, violas, cellos, double basses and gambas.
In 2009 he set up his own trade and to this day works in his violin making workshop in Kladno. He focuses mainly on building new violins, violas and cellos, but also on repairs and restoration.
He has taken part in many international violin making competitions in Italy, Germany, France, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. He counts as his greatest successes 10th place for a viola at the Cremona competition in 2012 and 3rd place for the sound of a violin at the Prague competition in 2025.
His instruments are played by many Czech students and professional musicians — among them Professor Jan Řezníček, FOK concertmaster Tomáš Duda and violist Olena Doubová.
You can read the full biography here →Studied art carving and sculpture at the Academy of Arts in Lviv.
Built his first violin, and first arrival in the Czech Republic; a year at a bowed-instrument workshop.
Return to the Czech Republic; making violins, violas, cellos, basses and gambas.
Founded his own violin making workshop in Kladno.
10th place for a viola at the international competition in Cremona.
3rd place for the sound of a violin at the Prague competition.
His teachers were the leading Czech violin makers Dalibor Bzirský and Jan Špidlen, under whom he refined his work in the tradition of Cremonese instrument making.
Part of the violin-making community
