Join us for an enlightening evening with Roman Goronok as he shares his unique insights into the world of fine stringed instruments, their authentication, and the intersection of art and investment.
The evening will feature a performance by San Francisco Symphony violinist Sarn Oliver, an authentication case study, and a Q&A session.
About the speaker:
Tiburon resident Roman Goronok was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1978, to a renowned Russian luthier father and a classical violinist mother. He immigrated to the United States with his family at age 11 and trained as a classical violinist at the Cleveland Institute of Music, then in San Francisco with Zaven Melikian for violin and Susan Bates for chamber music. At age 17, he was offered a place with Professor Zakhar Bron and lived in Germany for five years, initially in Lübeck and then in Cologne. In 2000, he returned to the Cleveland Institute of Music to study with Donald Weilerstein and received a Bachelor's Degree in violin performance in 2001.
In the fall of 2000, Roman was involved in a serious accident, causing life-changing decisions. He decided to cease playing the violin professionally and enrolled in MBA-level courses at CWRU Weatherhead School of Management. Subsequently, he was introduced to Charles Beare, "the most esteemed authenticator in the world," through whom Roman learned extensively about instrument identification and the central issue of authentication.
Moving to London in 2007, Roman pursued these interests further through study at Sotheby's Institute of Art London, leading to his Master's thesis, Developing Criteria for Identifying Authentication Experts in the Art World, Their Establishment as Such, Their Recognition and Their Use.
In 2002, Roman established The Roman Goronok Company, a boutique investment firm specializing in fine and rare stringed instruments. He has expertise in the provenance and identification of instruments, the needs of professional musicians, the world of patronage and collection, and the business of investment.
The Library was designed by the firm of Bull, Stockwell, and Allen. The architectural style is that of the 19th century railroad yard in Tiburon.
The site is part of the landfill of the 1890s done to create the railroad yard. Windows frame views of the marsh lands and Old St. Hilary's Open Space preserve.
The expanded library was designed by Brown Reynolds Watford Architecture and added approximately 9,000 square feet, bringing the total size of the library to about 19,500 square feet.