For almost 40 years, Bill Gailes has been repairing violins at Gailes’ Violin Shop at the corner of Rhode Island and Ontario Roads.

“When somebody picks up something and they’re pleased, by either what they see or what they hear, by the fact that it has been put back into a healthier condition, yeah, that’s very pleasurable for me,” Gailes said.

Gailes studied musical performance at this university in 1974, and while his brother became a professional musician, Gailes was satisfied with musical craftsmanship.

“I don’t know if we have a gene that goes for an affinity for music or what, but it’s just the kind of house I grew up in,” Gailes said. “Being a professional musician was not for me, but then I got introduced to a professional violin-maker who showed me some of the rudimentary things, and I just kept pursuing it since then.”

Gailes said he gets business from this university’s music school as well as from clients from cities all over the state, such as Takoma Park, Gaithersburg and Ellicott City.

“More of our clients come here because it’s a destination, not so much because they’re from College Park,” Gailes said.

While Gailes now has many employees at the shop, including his wife and a university student, he still does violin repairs himself.

Gailes’ family has lived in College Park since the 1890s, and while Gailes moved around in the past, he said he wanted to start his business in his hometown.

The violin shop seems to belong in a college town — Gailes said he’s read that playing instruments helps the left and right hemispheres of the brain become more interconnected.

“I’m not a scientist; I’m a fiddle-fixer. But from what I’ve read, in a sense, music makes you smarter,” he said. “Music is a remarkably powerful part of the human race.”