About Us

Jan Hampton

Jan founded Jan Hampton Violins in 1993 and has repaired and restored violin family instruments for over a decade. She has studied violin and bow restoration with masters of the trade, including: Violin Institute at the University of New Hampshire; Horst Kloss, Master violin maker; Lynn Hannings, Master bow maker; and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with Hans Nebel, Master violin maker.

Jan attended Virginia Commonwealth University studying Classical Guitar performance in the Masters of Music program. She is a member of the Violin Society of America.

Adam Birce

Adam joined the staff of Jan Hampton Violins in 2005, beginning his training with Jan in restoration and repairs. Adam has studied further at University of New Hampshire with master violin maker, Horst Kloss and at the Massachusettes College of Liberal Arts with master restoration expert, Hans Nebel.

Adam has a fine arts degree in music from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over 20 years of experience as a violinist and violist. He is a member of the Violin Society of America.

Suzanne Maerz

Suzanne started working at Jan Hampton Violins in May of 2004 and has become a vital part of the Jan Hampton team. She has been a cellist since the age of 9 and completed her Bachelors Degree in Music (education emphasis) with a minor in Business at Virginia Commonwealth University. When she is not working at the violin shop, you can find her keeping busy with her church’s string ensemble or mentoring her private string students. Suzanne also directs the Forest Hill Adult String Ensemble (FHASE) — an ensemble for adult beginning string players.

Suzanne is a member of ASTA and a board member for the Chamber Music Society of Central VA.

Natalie Frontiero

Natalie loved playing the violin in elementary school, but she went to middle and high schools with no strings programs and she pursued other interests at university. Eventually she decided music should be more than a hobby and returned to VCU to earn a Bachelor of Music Education. She taught middle school orchestra before coming to work for Jan Hampton Violins. She is a member of the VCU Community Guitar Ensemble, plays cello with FHASE, and teaches private guitar lessons.