Beth Blackerby and Al Marabella have owned Blackerby Violin Shop since 1995. Born and raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Beth has been studying violin since the age of five. She got her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Louisville and her Masters from the University of Wisconsin in Madison where she studied with Vartan Manoogian. Beth came to Austin to study with Vincent Fritelli for her Doctorate, but her entrepreneurial ambitions lead to the creation of the violin shop in the mid-90's. In 2010, Beth started a companion business, an interactive website geared toward the adult beginner and intermediate violinist. With almost 500 instructional videos, violinlab.com has become a popular site for adults looking to learn the violin on their own, or supplement their private lessons. Al was born and raised in Galveston, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Al worked in television news in Austin for seventeen years, first in front of the camera as a reporter and anchor, then later behind the scenes as a videographer and producer. He won numerous Associated Press and United Press International awards for journalism, as well as a prestigious Katie Award from the Press Club of Dallas for shooting and co-producing a documentary about Austin during World War II. Al and Beth were married in 1996. A year later, Al left the television world to join Beth at the violin shop full-time. He has managed the day to day operations of Blackerby Violin Shop for more than a decade. Al and Beth have two daughters; Madalyn, 14, also a violinist who loves to write; and Mae, 10, who plays piano and enjoys Irish Dancing.

John Koehler
Luthier
From a young age, John Koehler loved taking things apart to see how they worked, a drive he brings to instrument repair and restoration. Both a luthier and a musician, John blends repair artistry with a desire to make instruments perform their best. John graduated from the Redwing School of Violin Repair in Minnesota, studying both repair and construction. He has also worked at Gibson Guitars in Nashville. At Blackerby, John brings proven methods to the repair of violins, violas, cellos and basses. He is also an expert in bow work having done literally thousands of rehairs since joining Blackerby Violin Shop. John plays bass, electric and upright, in several bands. He also builds upright basses. It can take John up to a year to hand-carve a single bass. When not working at Blackerby or playing music, he might be found walking his pug Theo or creating something new in his home workshop.


Joseph Shuffield
Store Manager, Violin Specialist, Sheet Music Guru
Joseph Shuffield, our sheet music specialist, is also a professional violinist and teacher. His principal teachers are Kevin Lawrence and Ron Neil, and he has also studied with Stephen Rose of the Cleveland Orchestra and Isidore Cohen of the Beaux Arts Trio. He has performed with the Memphis and Austin symphonies, and is a member of several Austin chamber groups. Joseph has had the good fortune to record for the bands Fastball and Grupo Fantasma, and has worked extensively with Austin composers Peter Stopschinski and Graham Reynolds. He loves discovering and performing the works of neglected composers, and enjoys Austin for its many opportunities to work with new composers and artists.



Helen Bravenec
Violin Specialist
A native of Texas, Helen began her violin studies at age 2 with the Suzuki method. She gave her first solo performance at the age of 3 in Monterrey, Mexico and performed several years later at the Round Top Festival in Round Top, Texas. Helen spent several summers in Europe and studied with Edouard Grach and members of the Vienna Philharmonic. She received her Bachelors in Violin Performance from the University of Texas at Austin with Vincent Fritelli, where she was also coached by members of the Cavani String Quartet, Sylvia Rosenberg and Don Weilerstein. While at the University of Texas, Helen was asked to perform a solo at the Bartok Congress in 2000. Helen completed her Masters in Music in 2006 at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Lynn Blakeslee and Charles Castleman. Helen has been a member of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the Binghamton Symphony Orchestra and, in addition to being a member of the Austin Symphony, serves as Assistant Principal Second of the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra.



Colin Ferguson
Cello Specialist
Colin Ferguson is a professional cellist in the Austin area and hails from Chicago. Mr. Ferguson holds a B.A in cello performance from Michigan State University, and an M.M in cello performance from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra, and performs regularly in the Austin Symphony. He is the cellist of the Anderson Piano quintet, and regularly performs in Europe. Mr. Ferguson has taught at Valparaiso University in Indiana, and currently teaches cello students of all ages and levels. You can watch the finale of Colin's recent recital at Blackerby Violin Shop here.



Alex Bridges
Office Manager
Alex Bridges may not be a classically trained musician, but she knows just about everything when it comes to rental accounts, website updates and general office happenings. Though not a strings player herself, she does have a deep musical knowledge, having played drums, bass, guitar and keys since the age of six and volunteered for SXSW from ages 11-18. She was trained at the Natural Ear School of Music by Alvin Crowe, Speedy Sparks, John Moyer, Will Indian and Will Sexton. At age 16, she went to Austin Community College for a dual major in Business and Audio Engineering. After spending a few years in Palo Alto, California working as a research assistant for natural language voice recognition technology development, Alex came home to Austin in late 2009 to rekindle her love of the arts and pursue her degree in web design.