Meet Malaysia's first professional violin maker carving out a rare craft

Tan, a computer science graduate who doesn’t play the violin, once co-owned a music school and helped in his family’s food business. In 2010, a trip to China to restore an old violin sparked his fascination with its craft. Photo: AP

Hunched over his workbench, Tan Chin Seng shaves the wooden top plate of a violin, removing thin layers with slow, deliberate strokes. The work is meditative, out of the public eye. For Tan, transforming raw wood into a violin is a labour of artistry and love.

The 45-year-old is Malaysia’s first professional violin luthier, or maker of string instruments like violins, cellos and guitars. Over the past decade, he has earned international accolades. Now he mentors a new generation of makers in a field still little-known in South-East Asia.