Gilles Nehr was born in the southwestern region of France. At 17 years old, he became fascinated with the profession of his cousin, bowmaker Jean-Pascal Nehr. Gilles Nehr joined him in Marseille as an apprentice and graduated from Mirecourt at the age of 20 in bowmaking. 

 

In 1997, René Morel recognized the purity of the French tradition evident in Gilles Nehr's work. René Morel offered him the unique opportunity to work as the only bowmaker in his workshop located on 54th street in New York City. Gilles Nehr became the bowmaker of the world's most renowned musicians, including Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Isaac Stern, Joshua Bell, Midori, Jamie Laredo, and many others.. During his time there, Gilles Nehr restored and studied bows of exquisite beauty and value, and developed a new concept of the bow to address the weaknesses of classical bows while providing practical solutions to the demands of string-players. Thus, the Tête-Bêche bow was born.

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In 1999, Gilles Nehr left René Morel Rare Violins to open his own workshop in Manhattan. Alongside selling his traditional and Tête-Bêche model bows, he also became the exclusive caretaker of the Juilliard School bow collection.

 

In 2002, Gilles Nehr moved back to Europe and established his new workshop in Lisbon, then Rome, Berlin, and Bordeaux.

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The summer of 2023 witnessed Gilles's next chapter as he settled in Montreal, Québec, Canada. Aligning with the esteemed Collectif Lutherie Montréal (CLM), Gilles continues to weave his narrative of innovation, tradition, and mastery in the world of bowmaking.