Instrument Making
Independence, VA
Photo: Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities
Chris Testerman of Independence, Virginia was raised in the traditions of instrument making and Appalachian music. He attended Mount Rogers Combined School in Grayson County and played in the Albert Hash Memorial Band, led by Whitetop Mountain Band banjo player Emily Spencer, as a teenager. The late Albert Hash, born in Whitetop in 1917, mentored some of the greatest luthiers and instrument makers in Southwest Virginia, including Gerald Anderson, Randal Eller, Walter Messick, and Wayne Henderson. Albert Hash’s daughter Audrey Hash Ham used to run the Old Time Music Program at the school. When he decided to pursue instrument making, following the encouragement of his teachers and bandmates, Testerman sought Ham’s instruction. He shared that the first time he inquired about a fiddle in her workshop, she handed him a block of wood, some sandpaper, and a pocket knife, telling him: “Carve away anything that does not look like a fiddle.” He worked that piece of wood for a year until he had something to show her. She noticed his hard work, and soon he was learning at her side. They were friends for years after that, and to this day Testerman uses custom tools crafted by Hash in his shop, willed to him after Ham’s passing in 2013.
Testerman makes instruments in the spirit of his predecessors—fine musical instruments with clear tone and unique adornments. The influence from the Hash family can be seen in the animal head scrolls carved on many of his fiddles, inspired by the natural beauty of Grayson County and the mountains of the region. “Through the music, I have met lots of interesting people and traveled all over the world. I see the importance it plays in the community in bringing people together,” he shared. With the support of the Virginia Folklife Program. Testerman apprenticed with master dulcimer maker Walter Messick in 2012-2013 and in 2021-2022, Testerman became the teacher, training apprentices Karlie Keepfer and Sophia Burnett in making their first instruments. Testerman will be in the Instrument Makers Workshop in the Virginia Folklife Area on Saturday and Sunday and playing in the Instrument Makers Jam on the Center for Cultural Vibrancy Virginia Folklife Stage on Sunday.