This violin was made in memory of Thurmond's wife's grandmother, Floretta Elmore Greeley.  Modeled after the "long" Stradivarius violins which he made between 1690 and 1700, the instrument was completed by Thurmond Knight in 2003.  Freeman Corey purchased Floretta in 2007.  He has produced several commercial CDs playing Floretta with his blue grass group.
          Fiddle player Freeman Corey grew up on a dairy farm in Benson, VT. The son of a fine old time fiddler, he started playing at age 10, learning hundreds of Irish, Scottish, and French-Canadian fiddle tunes from his father.  Their family band, Champlain Time, consisted of his Dad, Freeman Corey, Sr., on fiddle, Wynn Griffith on guitar, Melvin Corey on banjo, and Freeman. They played square dances, contra dances, kitchen hops, and parties around Vermont for many years.
           Freeman has played with the Hilltop String Band (NY), Tobacco Valley (CT), Champlain Time (VT), The HayMakers (VT), No Brakes (NY) and Spare Parts (MA).  Contact Freeman at freeman@bigspikebluegrass.com.

Freeman Corey playing Floretta Violin

 

Floretta Elmore Greeley