Scott Albert Woodworking
About Scott Albert
Scott is a violin maker, woodworker, human advocate, and the kind of guy that tries to do a little something good everyday. The seeds for this philosophy were planted in the “back to nature” movement of the 1970s when his family moved from an urban life to a self-supporting rural life on a small farm. Making things became a necessity, knowing your neighbors and helping them became a way of life, and being dirt poor, literally, became the norm.
Like other rural poor ,Scott found refuge in the military. He joined when he was 17 and spent the next 22 years living mostly overseas, learning from other’s cultures, making lifelong friends, and finding the time to do good amongst the obvious difficult things the military required of him. He found a balance. He spent weekends volunteering as the maintenance person at a women’s shelter while stationed in Mississippi, ended his tour in the first Gulf War by helping to deliver food to Kurdish refugees, was a financial counselor, tutor and science fair judge, and finally became a First Sergeant where his full-time job was to help others.
Retired from the military at 39 years old allowed Scott to pursue his dreams. He and his wife, Hyoson, moved to a small Illinois town, resurrected the long closed local bar/restaurant and converted an abandoned hardware store into quality apartments for five families. After restoring their 1870s home their minds began to wander and they knew they were ready for bigger challenges.
After 7 years of giving back to a community Scott applied for and was granted a seat as a student at the Chicago School of Violin Making. Hyoson was off to school to become a nail technician. Their lives had prepared them for uncertainty and failure was not an option. Violin making school re-ignited Scott’s love of woodworking and making. Since then, he has used his skills to make beautiful and successful violins and violas, restore historic homes and businesses, make wood components for historic homes, and take on as many challenges that can be solved with wood and skill as possible.
Luthier Work
Scott Alberts Violins currently on consignment
Wood-Working
Featured Media
Feel Good Stories
Adventures with John Bany
The picture of me, some other students at the Chicago School of Violin Making, and John Bany, with his bass that we repaired. It was broken badly after a gig and he had no money to fix it. Several of us took it on as a pro bone project at the violin school. It was an honor to be part of John’s life and to be part of his inner circle, if only for a short while.
After the repair, he invited us to the famous Green Mill in Chicago to hear him play his bass again with Swing Gitan and Alfonso Ponticel—creating treasured memories.
A Story About a Special Violist
I had a viola on consignment that was under trial by a high school student that had recently been selected to join the Youth Symphony of the United States. He loved my viola and wanted it very bad as his current viola was not up to his ability. He was also a dedicated young man from a less entitled family that up to now had made his own breaks. So, we made a deal. Do a go fund me and whatever you raise up to my selling price is your price. I didn’t care if they raised ten bucks, the viola was his. His world tour with the youth symphony went great and later he used the viola to successful audition for his college admission. I’m so proud of that young man.
(Mr. Thacker is the owner of Plum Grove Music in Indiana, where Scott had his viola on consignment)
Contact Scott Albert
Scott@ScottAlbertWoodWorking.com