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I've had three violins in my life. The first wasn't around for very long. It was a 3/4 sized loaner instrument that I didn't even have for a full year. My next violin was a full-sized student instrument. It served me well from fourth grade through seventh grade. In the seventh grade I purchased, with my own money, the instrument that would see me through the rest of middle school, high school, Governor's school, college, and the start of my semi-professional career as a violinist.

I played my first Irish fiddle tune on this violin. I played two high school recitals and my college senior recital on this instrument. This fiddle flew to Texas with me and even went to Ohio once. It has played in countless concerts, numerous weddings, a memorial service in the woods in the rain, and for impromptu performances in family backyards.

But now, this instrument sits in a shop waiting to be bought by its next owner. It has been lovingly broken in and has come into its own special sound. I was its first owner and I'm a little sad to see it go. But the time has come for us to part ways.

Yesterday, Mom, Jamie, and I headed downtown to partake of some yummy bbq. After we finished stuffing ourselves full of smoked beef brisket, us ladies dragged the non-musically inclined guy over to the music shop. Mom and I mainly wanted to look at music, but I couldn't help oogling the instruments.

There hanging above a glass case was a gorgeous old instrument with a not-to-bad pricetag. A sign on the case said "We're happy for you to try out our instruments!" I took the invitation. A salesman carefully took the violin down and handed it to me with a bow. I pulled the bow across the strings. Ah! What a sound! I asked the salesman about trade-ins, but he said to come back on Saturday to speak with the owner and the violin guy.

Today, Jamie and I headed back downtown with my violin. To make a long story very short, we walked out of the music shop with a 1739 German violin in my case.

Before buying, the owner of the shop told us the story of the instrument. It was being sold on consignment by a man whose sister had been a member of the Winston-Salem Symphony and had died several years ago. She had played the viola in the symphony but had several violins in her collection. The music shop was also selling her viola, which she made herself, on consignment. Her name was Margaret Ann Smith.

My eyes widened at hearing her name. Several years ago, a man brought several crates of music to the Moravian Music Foundation as a donation. His sister had died and he was cleaning out her home. He said we could keep the music or give it away as we saw fit. The collection was made up mostly of violin studies and ensemble music (quartets, quintets, trios, etc.), which we sent over to the Salem College Fine Arts Library. But there were a few books that caught my attention and I claimed them for myself. When I got home from the music shop, I flipped through my shelf of music books. I found a book of Violin Duets by Playel with "Peggy Ann Smith" written on the cover.

Perhaps it was meant to be. :)