Hand-made by Thurmond Knight, a violinmaker located in Glover, Vermont, the Floreen Thomas Violin 2006 is modeled after Fritz Kreisler’s 1733 Guarneri del Gesu’. It is dedicated to Thurmond’s nanny, Floreen Thomas, who raised Thurmond for the first 5 years of his life in their Pahokee, Florida home located in the Everglades at the southern end of Lake Okeechobee near Bacom Point.
The violin’s top is constructed from Sitka spruce harvested in northwest Canada. The one-piece back, as well as the neck and ribs, are of maple from Bosnia. Hand-carved boxwood/ebony fittings were used in setting up the instrument.
Floreen was varnished over a period of about 30 days with sun-thickened linseed oil as sealer, followed by nine layers of tinted oil varnish, each layer of which required at least 24 hours of sun exposure to dry. The instrument was then put through a final drying in Vermont sunshine for three weeks. Eight hours of hand polishing brought the finish to its present luster.
A violin for a soloist, with more than ample power and projection, Floreen was sold in 2007 to violinist Gerardine Tobin of Lancaster, New Hampshire, a member of the Newport Area Community Orchestra, as well as several area chamber groups and other community orchestras.
