Michael Becker has spent more than half of his life playing the violin with the Des Moines Symphony, but says he now plans to focus more energy on his business, Becker Fine Stringed Instruments L.C.

Becker, 40, was introduced to the world of stringed instruments at the age of 4. He played the violin steadily, and then went on to study music performance at Drake University. In his freshman year of college, he auditioned for and started playing with the symphony, and he says it was partly through the encouragement of fellow symphony members that he and his wife, Deborah (Krum) Becker, decided to start a business specializing in violas, cellos and violins.

“When we started the business, it was in response to a need in the community for a dedicated string instrument business,” Becker said. “A number of my colleagues at the symphony knew I had an interest in instruments and suggested that we try it. It really blossomed from there.”

Becker’s Fine Stringed Instruments is now in its 11th year. Part of its success, he said, is related to Des Moines’ support of music and the arts.

“Des Moines has a great music environment,” Becker said. “We have a lot of wonderful teachers here, a lot of talented students and some terrific young players. It’s been a great place for string music, orchestral music, to flourish.”

In his 21 years with the symphony, Becker said, he has worked with incredibly committed musicians, which he says carries over to the wonderful music being produced by the program.

“Everybody comes from different backgrounds, but when they arrive for rehearsals, everybody is very businesslike in how they approach it,” Becker said. “I think the quality of what happens there as an ensemble has always been very, very good. It has increased steadily since Joseph Giunta became music director.”

Becker said something musicians have to struggle with is working their outside lives around a demanding schedule of up to five two-and-a-half-hour rehearsals the week leading up to a concert. Just last spring, scheduling conflicts for this season prompted Becker to resign from participating with the symphony full time, deciding instead to be involved as a substitute.

“Almost everybody in the symphony has a daytime job or full-time position of some kind,” Becker said. “It’s amazing to me to see the players in the symphony, year in and year out, who have so many other commitments with work and family and so forth, come back to it, knowing the incredible amount of energy it involves. I think that speaks for the incredible dedication of the musicians in the community, and I have very high regard for my colleagues.”

Another key to his business’ success, he said, is the complementary skill sets he and his wife bring to the enterprise. What he lacked in business background, Deborah made up for with her education and experience.

“We had confidence because the different kinds of skills that the two of us carried into the business combined very well,” Becker said. “Deborah has a master’s in journalism and mass communication, and she is excellent at thinking things through from a business perspective. For me, I am very familiar with the products, and can play, repair and assess them.”

Becker said the venture has forced he and his wife to learn about “each other’s worlds,” and in that process, they’ve discovered a common thread on their ideas of how a specialized business such as theirs should operate.

“The principles of making a violin, playing it and repairing it are the same as they were hundreds of years ago, and we feel, too, that the way we run our business should reflect that sort of timelessness,” Becker said. “We emphasize principles of business that are never out of date, such as treating customers properly with respect and treating people the way that we would want to be treated.”