David LeRoy Fulton is a private collector of

Cremonese Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

instruments. Born in 1944, he grew up in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, playing the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

from an early age. He studied

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and was

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

of the University of Chicago Orchestra while he was there. Fulton performed professionally with the

Hartford Symphony Orchestra The Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is an American orchestra based in Hartford, Connecticut. Overview The orchestra presents more than 100 concerts annually to audiences numbering more than 110,000. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s exte ...

as a violinist. In 1970 he founded the Department of

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

, serving as Professor and Chairman for 10 years. While still at Bowling Green, he co-founded Fox Software, which ultimately gained international recognition for its database management application,

FoxPro FoxPro is a text-based (computing), text-based Procedural programming, procedurally oriented programming language and database management system (DBMS), and it is also an object-oriented programming language, originally published by Fox Softwar ...

. Following the sale of Fox Software to

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

in 1992, Fulton served as Microsoft’s Vice President for Database Products until his retirement in 1994. Fulton has produced several documentary films about violins and music. The first was ''Homage'' (2008), which won the 2009

Juno award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

as "Classical Album of the Year: Solo or Chamber Ensemble". The film features violinist

James Ehnes James Ehnes (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian- American concert violinist and violist. Early life Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey E ...

performing on fourteen instruments from Fulton's collection. The second, ''Violin Masters: Two Gentlemen of Cremona'', (2010), narrated by

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British and American actor. He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen. In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award ...

and featuring renowned violinists James Ehnes,

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, one of four children of ...

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * M ...

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

among others, examines the history and modern use of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù violins. ''Violin Masters'' won a 2012 Emmy in the "Documentary - Historical" category. The most recent film, ''Transcendence: A Meeting of Greats'', (2014), documents the sessions at which the

Miró Quartet The Miró Quartet is an internationally performing professional classical string quartet based in Austin, Texas. The group is the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Texas and its members are on the faculty of the Butler School of Music. I ...

recorded Schubert's great String Quartet No. 15, in G Major, D. 887. This film was nominated for two 2014

Emmy awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

in the Special Event Coverage category, winning Best Director in that category. In January 2022 Fulton published a book about his violin collection entitled ''The Fulton Collection - A Guided Tour''. This deluxe 1st edition volume is a large-format, linen-bound hardcover containing museum-quality photos, archival material, and first-hand recollections.

Instruments

Violins
Stradivari '' La Pucelle'' 1709
Stradivari "General Kyd, Perlman" 1714
Stradivari Marsick 1715
Stradivari "Baron d'Assignies" 1713
Stradivari "Alba, Herzog, Coronation" 1719
Stradivari "Sassoon" 1733
Stradivari " Baron Knoop, Bevan" 1715
Guarneri del Gesù "King Joseph" 1737
Guarneri del Gesù "Stern, Panette, Balâtre, Alard" 1737
Guarneri del Gesù "Lord Wilton" 1742
Guarneri del Gesù "Haddock" 1734
Guarneri del Gesù "d'Egville" 1735
Guarneri del Gesù "Kemp, Emperor" 1738
Guarneri del Gesù "Carrodus" 1743
Pietro Guarneri, of Mantua "Shapiro" 1698
Carlo Bergonzi "Kreisler, Perlman" 1735(?)

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (often shortened to G. B. Guadagnini; 23 June 1711 – 18 September 1786) was an Italian luthier, regarded as one of the finest craftsmen of string instruments in history. Reprint with new introduction by Stewart Po ...

, Turin 1778
Violas

Andrea Guarneri Andrea Guarneri (1626, in Casalbuttano; 1698, in Cremona) was an Italian luthier, musician and founder of the Casa Guarneri. He is the most important student of Nicola Amati and grandfather of one of the best luthiers, Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guar ...

"Conte Vitale" 1676

Gasparo da Salò Gasparo da Salò (20 May 154214 April 1609) is the name given to Gasparo Bertolotti, one of the earliest violin makers and an expert double bass player. Around 80 of his instruments are known to have survived to the present day: violins (sma ...

"Krasner, Kelley" c. 1580
Giuseppe Guadagnini "Wanamaker, Rolla" 1793

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

Girolamo Amati Girolamo Amati (1561–1630) was an Italian luthier, active from 1580 to 1630. Biography Born in Cremona, Girolamo was the youngest son of Andrea Amati and brother of Antonio Amati. Girolamo worked, probably from 1575, with his brother, in hi ...

, Cremona 1619
''Girolamo Amati (Hieronymus II or Girolamo Amati (II)'' 1703

Vincenzo Rugeri Vincenzo Rugeri (30 September 1663 – 4 May 1719) (also known as Ruger, Rugier, Rugieri, Ruggeri, Ruggieri, Ruggerius), was an Italian luthier of string instruments such as violins, cellos, and, violas in Cremona, Italy. His instruments are noted ...

, Cremona 1697
cellos
Stradivari "Bass of Spain, Adam" 1713
Pietro Guarneri, of Venice "Beatrice Harrison" 1739

Montagnana Montagnana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Padova, in Veneto (northern Italy). Neighbouring communes are Borgo Veneto, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore, Pressana, Minerbe and Roveredo di Guà. , the popul ...

"George Gudgeon" 1737
Guarneri del Gesù "Messeas" 1731

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, David L. 1944 births Living people American collectors University of Chicago alumni Bowling Green State University faculty People from Eugene, Oregon