New High Quality Value:
Magnificent cellos are still made today using traditional methods, which conform to the highest standards. With meticulous attention to detail, I create individual solo instruments of high musical and artisan quality, which will bring you always lots of playing enjoyment.
You can see them for yourself at my workshop. I’ll be happy to build a cello for you, completely in accordance to your wishes and perceptions.
Supporting Talent
I support talented cellists in Germany and abroad through personal contacts with college professors, and through my involvement at the Kronberg Cello Academy in Germany. My goal is to provide these musicians with an instrument that brings out their talent optimally and facilitates them to achieve a flawless performance everywhere – whether at an audition, on a concert stage, or in competition. My motto: the limit shouldn’t be specified by the wood; but should be specified only by the ability of the performer.
Would you like to support a talented cellist as a mentor?
Are you a talented cellist with first-time successes?
Please talk to me or contact me by e-mail.
The Theis Newly Built Cello Warranty
The Theis Newly Built Cello Warranty applies to the first buyer of newly built cellos from my workshop.
With this warranty, I give my clients an opportunity once per year to let me personally check the instrument over at my workshop or at an event we’re both attending. Through this service, Theis clients can always be certain that their cello is technically in order and the tone is optimally adjusted.
With the exception of the strings, this warranty is valid for the whole instrument. It applies to the entire time the instrument is in possession of its first buyer and it is not transferrable. The following conditions are not covered by the Theis Newly Built Cello Warranty: natural wear and tear caused by normal use and signs of age on the instrument. Damage caused by neglect, accidents, improper use, tuning adjustments and repair work performed by individuals other than the manufacturer, or during the transport of the instrument are not covered by the warranty either. Improper use also means exposing the instrument to excessive heat, dryness, cold, or moisture. The warranty expires if individuals, who are not authorized by me, attempt to fix the instrument or conduct repair work on it.
The Theis Buyers’ Warranty: An Upgrade For Your Playing Enjoyment:
Sometimes the search for the instrument of a lifetime never ends or it just starts all over again. If you’ve purchased your instrument from me, you can trade it in at any time for another of similar quality at no extra charge. If you’d like to trade your cello up, you can pay the remaining price difference. Would you like a different bow? Please talk to me.
The Optimal Environment For Your Instrument:
Wood is an organic material; therefore, make sure your cello isn’t exposed to temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees F) and over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F). The humidity level should range between 40 and 70 percent maximum, and 50 to 55 percent is ideal.
Temperature changes and changes in the humidity level should never happen suddenly; give your instrument some time to acclimatize in its case. Are you planning to take your cello on a trip to South America or to Spitsbergen in Norway? Talk to me. And don’t forget to send me a postcard!
The Stuff That Sounds Are Made Of:
Providing that a minimum level of caution and care are taken, a stringed instrument can survive centuries and make the art of musical compositions, through the people who play them, heard on the finest level.
This is proven by thousands of old instruments, which are performing their service worldwide. In spite of their supposed fragility, they are furthermore the tonal instruments, which always get better with every day they’re played. This wonderful feature has a lot to do with the material, which they are almost completely made of: wood. And wood always reacts to how it’s stored, treated, and handled. Master instruments are particularly sensitive artistic tools, which produce first class performances on sound volume, color, and individuality. This sensitivity also has its downside: even the smallest changes of their dimensions and angles through climate fluctuations may affect the sound and feel when they are played. The individual elements of my cellos are put together by me with bone and hide glue (animal glue), which is a traditional and proven method handed down over centuries. This natural glue has its advantages: when repairs are made and the wooden parts need to be separated, the work can be carried out in a manner, which doesn’t stress the instrument.Under extreme climatic conditions, the glue can suffer damage and can come loose, but the wooden parts of the instrument usually remain intact and can be put back together again. However, under extreme conditions such high tension can occur that cracks form in the wood. Even those damages are fixable, but are preventable in most cases. You and those who will own the instrument in the future hold the key in your hands: with a little care, your cello can last for centuries in excellent condition and, in doing so, possibly become a classic as well.
Our Youth Makes Music – On Cellos Made By Thorsten Theis
At the 47th National “Jugend musiziert” competition in Luebeck, Germany (2010), five prize-winning cellists, solo category, were playing a Theis cello. One third prize winner, three second prize winners, and one first prize winner were among them. In addition, a young musician became certified through participation with excellent results. You’ll find these young musicians on my references page too.