William Harris Lee & Co.

Home
William Harris Lee & Co.

Makers & dealers of Fine String Instruments
since 1978
in
- Chicago | Wilmette | Atlanta -

Since our founding, William Harris Lee & Company has become the leading workshop in the tradition of the great violin houses which combines European craft and American ingenuity. As makers and dealers of fine string instruments, we focus on providing our community with incomparable value to meet the needs of every musician. Our shops employ a diverse team of experts and feature wide selections of

instruments, bows, and accessories curated by our flagship location at the Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago. It is our dream to generate world-class opportunities for the next generation and beyond.

30/05/2026

Gary Garavaglia setting the bass bar in a new violin!

Shaping and setting the bass bar takes many hours, sometimes days, and requires incredible patience and precision.

22/05/2026

Luthier Mietek Rusnak finishing up the neck-set on a beautiful new cello!

20/05/2026

You can never have enough clamps!

14/05/2026

Don't scroll by!

Luthier Gary Garavaglia working on a scroll for a new violin.

16/04/2026

Scraping by 'til Friday

21/03/2026

No strings attached!

Here is a beautiful 16 3/4 in. Viola by Stanley Kiernoziak, fresh off the workbench.

14/03/2026

Take a peek at this new Pique Violin! Just receiving some final adjustments before it gets varnished and set up.

03/02/2026

What differences do you notice between these violin scrolls? All five of these instruments are made in the William Harris Lee & Co. workshop, and showcase the personality and variation of different luthier's styles. See if you can guess the makers!

31/01/2026

Featured Instrument:

A beautiful cello by William Harris Lee & Co. Luthier Jacek Zadlo. Zadlo began his training in instrument making after grade school at Panstwowe Liceum Sztuk Plastychnych, a vocational school for the fine arts, in Southern Poland. His decision to pursue a career in music was influenced by his older brother, who previously attended this school, as well as his past experience as a pianist in grade school. He then continued his studies of instrument making at Akademia Muzyizna W Poland (Academy of Music) in Poznan, Poland for an additional three years.

Jacek moved to the United States in 1992, and has worked for William Harris Lee and Company since 1996 as a Luthier. He has assisted Bronek Cison for many years and also worked with Tetsuo Matsuda. In 2022, Jacek was a finalist for Tone in the AVS exhibition.

Come to our Chicago showroom to try out this wonderful instrument, or call us at 312 786 0459 to set up an appointment!

21/05/2025

Yucel demonstrates remarkable patience and meticulous attention to detail as he works on a customer’s instrument.

Address

410 S. Michigan Avenue Ste. 560

60605

Opening Hours

Tuesday	09:00 - 17:30
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:30
Thursday	09:00 - 17:30
Friday	09:00 - 17:30
Saturday	10:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+13127860459

Website

http://www.whlee.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when William Harris Lee & Co. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to William Harris Lee & Co.:

Shortcuts

Address
Telephone
Opening Hours
Alerts
Contact The Establishment
Claim ownership or report listing

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Arts & Entertainment?

Country:

City: