From Vancouver garage to orchestra stage, locally made instrument makes music for the ages

An instrument that was popular centuries ago in Europe is seeing a renewed appreciation for it in Canada.

Vancouverite Craig Tomlinson builds harpsichords – a keyboard instrument – and recently made one for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

He's been building instruments since he was 14, but the harpsichord is his speciality.

One instrument takes him about 1,000 hours to complete.

"Harpsichords, unlike pianos, get better and better with age," Tomlinson said. "It's kind of like a nice whiskey or a nice wine. In about 150 years, it's going to be wonderful."

He added that while they might look similar, the strings of a harpsichord are plucked while those of a piano are hammered.

While he has been making harpsichords for decades, his latest creation is special, as he teamed up with his mother, Olga, who painted it all by hand.

"She's 92 and she did this. And it's just stunning," said Jerrold Eilander, the orchestra operations manager for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

"It has hummingbirds on it. It's got blue jays. It's got bees, it's got butterflies, lots of flowers ... when you look at it, you see all the gold leaf that's on it. So it really sparkles on stage with all the lights on it," he continued.

Eilander decided to name the instrument after her, and it's already got her signature on it.

"That was a real surprise, because they usually have French names and not Ukrainian names. She has a Ukrainian background. And it was really, really nice," said Tomlinson.

"You know, long after she's gone, in another 150 years, she'll still be recognized as the painter of this."

For Tomlinson, his favourite part about making the instrument is listening to it play at the symphony.

"It's kind of like having one of my kids on stage performing. You're kind of proud of the sound that is coming out of them," he said.

The instrument made its debut this week at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton.

"It sounds like something from the days of yore. It sounds like it's 400 years old, and it should," said Eilander, adding that the harpsichord peaked in popularity from the 16th to the 18th century.

The orchestra will be playing baroque classics again on Friday night, including music by Vivaldi and Handel.

"It really is the music that was used at the time for harpsichord, so this entire concert is focused around that," said Eilander.