Günter Mark has been building lutes since 1979, originally as an amateur, taking part in three lutemaking courses in Erlangen, later for a period of 16 months with Robert Lundberg in Portland/USA.

In 1984 he opened his own workshop in Erlangen/Germany, and in 1987 accompanied his wife, the singer Nele Gramss, to Utrecht/TheNetherlands. Since 1993 they are living in Elsa, a hamlet ca. 15 km west of Coburg/Germany.

After receiving his Master Craftsman's Certificate in 1995, Günter Mark met his second important teacher: Benno Streu in Freiburg, while working on the Liuto Forte during 1998.

In 2005 he was appointed honorary professor at the Westsächsische Hochschule, Zwickau, for the manufacture of historical musical instruments at the campus of Markneukirchen.

Also in Portland he has built his first viola da gamba. In his opinion lutes and viols have much in common, in that principles of design and sound may often be transferred from one instrument to the other.

In 2012 Günter Mark won the German Musical Instruments Award for an 8-course Renaissance lute.

www.gkmark.de