Live! at the Museum: Hutchins Consort Quartet

The Hutchins Consort plays on the eight scaled violins designed and built by luthier Dr. Carleen Hutchins, whose research into the acoustic properties of string instruments resulted in an innovative process called free-plate tuning; a precise method of refining the top and back plates of a violin before it is assembled to bring it to peak acoustic performance. The fruits of her labor are the eight Hutchins violins, ranging in size from the 18.5-inch treble to the 7.2-foot contrabass. Like all violins, these instruments capture the emotional element of the music. But they have the additional advantage of being crafted as a complete set with the same harmonic DNA — giving them the ability to produce a unique array of sounds that add a new dimension to the works they perform.