Chris and the long journey

cello by JACOB VON DER LIPPE

Oslo – 2025

PERSONAL MODEL

Sometimes it’s worth waiting a long time. Chris Mui is a cellist in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and we first met in 2017, when he tried out one of the cellos I had just finished making. He then decided to put down a deposit for one of my upcoming cellos. Years passed, and Chris completed his master’s studies in Switzerland, before securing a permanent position as a cellist in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. We kept in regular contact over the course of those eight years.

In the winter of 2025, I was going to start making my next cello and contacted Chris to see if he thought it was time to make my cello dream a reality. When the cello was completed in June 2025, Chris came to Oslo to test the cello for 24 hours. After playing the cello for a few hours, he was absolutely certain that this was the right cello for him.

In September he returned to collect the cello and took it home to Singapore. It is a great privilege to work with a cellist like Chris, he has always given me full creative freedom to create the best possible cello. I look forward to following this adventure further in the coming years.

references cello

The story

a cello for chris

The cello is made on my personal model, which gives a powerful tone with lots of overtones and a projecting sound. The back, sides and neck are made from heavily flamed European maple. The top is made of first-class Italian alpine spruce. The fingerboard is made from a sustainable alternative to ebony, Corene . The endpin is made of titanium, which ensures optimal transmission of the frequencies to the floor. See more photos of the cello below.

More cellos will be made in the coming years, please contact me if you would like to know more. You can see the instruments being created through daily updates on my Instagram account.