COMPANY PROFILE

Ben Bell has been building professional bassoons for 14 years. Currently building his 35th instument, his desire to create was born of the experience gained while repairing bassoons. After 10 years with Frank Marcus and Ivor Rothwell at Marcus Bassoon Repair in Toronto, he felt that the bore was the fundamental weakness with most bassoons and to prove it he built a bassoon with a new bore based on his research and measurements from hundreds of instruments.

Bell bassoon #1 was a great success and many people who played it ordered one. B.H. Bell Bassoons is now located near Stoney Lake, just north of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. From his workshop in the woods, Ben, and his assistant Philip Armstrong, build about 5 or 6 instruments a year. They are shipped around the world to professional musicians who rave about their qualities (testimonials). They have gained enormous insight into the effect wood type plays in instrument sound and are applying it to the bassoons they custom build for clients. As well, they produce a range of bocals and a Bell-designed reed profiler which is proving extremely popular. Ben is now conducting research into bocal design and has a gnawing desire to build a baroque bassoon.

Ben brings a rare talent to his craft. He is a bassoonist. He studied with Stephen Franse in Calgary and Nicholas Kilburn and David Carroll in Toronto, graduating with a B.Mus. in performance from the University of Toronto. His personality has dictated his choice of occupation. "For me, music can be a very fleeting thing. I can remember, for instance, the measurements I took on instruments 20 years ago, but don't ask me to repeat a song I heard just 5 minutes ago! I've found that building musical instruments suits my mental attitude more. It is a more concrete occupation for me."