My Story

Artistic Vitae – Stefan Puchalski

Formal music studies (tuba) started at age 13. Studied music at the California State University at Fullerton School of Music. Dropped out in 1977 and continued studying independently. Finally received his Associate of Arts degree in general studies from Peninsula College (WA) in 1997.

Stefan began playing traditional styles of dance music on violin after moving to Port Townsend, WA in 1981. Since then, has focused on learning by immersion in traditional (i.e. village) settings where possible; by making and obtaining recordings of the oldest styles; and by taking part in the same traditional settings. When playing in more urban settings, he brings the truest possible performance to an alien venue, focusing on the original regional and personal playing and repertoire, rather than fusing with modern styles. His fascination is with the earliest, most raw and individual playing styles, with a strong sense of rhythm permeating his playing.

Styles he has studied intensely, and often overlapping, include New England (U.S.), Quebecois (Canadian), Irish, Mexican and New Mexican (U.S.), Mid-west American, Hungarian, Polish, Ashkenazic Jewish, and Gypsy table music. Performing experiences have included playing for dances, in cafes and pubs, in concerts at large and small public venues and in private homes all over North America and Europe. Teaching experiences have varied from private lessons to teaching large workshops in repertoire and style.

At home in Port Townsend, he runs ongoing weekly evening session/workshops, teaching the traditional music he has learned, using the same ear-based method that has historically been associated with this music. Also in Port Townsend, he plays with the American old-time stringband “Airstream Traveler,” and leads an Eastern-European folk-based group on violin, tuba and lira korbowa.

From 1997 to 2000, Stefan and his wife, Judith Bows, lived in the beautiful royal city of Krakow, Poland. There, they formed the core of a folk music group that performed regularly in pubs and in concert. At the same time, Stefan was a regular with the well-known Polish folk group “Muzykanci.” He has made several return trips to Poland, performing with accordionist/singer Jacek Halas as “ket jo barat” (winners of a special award for most original use of traditional music at the New Traditions contest in Warsaw) and collaborating with the Jewish music group “Ruach,” among other projects.

While living in Krakow, he was fortunate to be able to study instrument making with the master violin maker Jan Pawlikowski, and now is also a maker of stringed musical instruments—historical, folk and classical. He is a prolific maker and promoter of lira korbowa (Polish/Ukrainian hurdy gurdy), and three of his instruments—a lira, suka, and chordophone Plock—are now in the Polish national collection at the Ethnographic Museum of Krakow. Most recently, he is building medieval, renaissance, and baroque stringed instruments for players in America and Europe, becoming known for specializing in the obscure and fantastic.

Applied Organology…

Before I learned to play any instrument, I was already looking at pictures of and reading about, musical instruments. As a kid, I spent a whole LOT of time at various libraries finding out what musical instruments existed, how they worked, who played them and when, what styles of music, what places and what time periods they were associated with, things like that. Now I mess around with constructing the artifacts that create music. It seems there are quite a few people out there who’d like to be playing something they know used to exist, or that they wish had existed…just like me! I have to admit, I’m pretty well limited to strings, being especially fond of and knowledgeable about the bowed strings, but that hasn’t, for example, stopped me from building Polish folk drums when I couldn’t find them…

After working almost exclusively with traditional folk instruments, I’ve lately found myself spending more time working on historical instruments. It’s a fascinating thing to take an idea, a picture, and whatever measurements and published research that’s available, and create a playing thing.

For instance, when a friend wanted to see if he could play bass viola da gamba on a large tenor-sized body, an dwanted an instrument based on “Venetian” (a debate rages…) instruments and iconography, I jumped at the chance:

There’s a drawback to having so many, varied projects going on at any one time, of course:

On the other hand, like Jan Gaca says:

Actually, I wonder what he does say?

The monkey sculpture

The sky over Beijing