The Department of Fine Arts and the University Artist Series sponsor a wide variety of performances that are open to the public, usually free or at a minimal charge. Those held in the downtown Performing Arts Center venues are typically ticketed with reservations available by calling 843.661.4444 weekday afternoons. Other than University Theatre performances, events held in venues on the main campus are typically general admission with no advance reservation system.
Spanish Night Dreams: Yun Hao Jiang, baritone and Carla Ferreira Romaniuk, piano
FMU Artist Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Monday, September 25, 2017
Shanghai born Baritone Yun Hao Jiang has appeared in several operas productions in Chicago, IL and Charleston, SC. Some of his most recent roles include the Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly, Betto and Marco in Gianni Schicchi, Armour Man in Die Zauberflӧte and the title role in Don Giovanni.
Mr. Jiang was the first prize winner at the Evanston Music competition in 2012 during the same year he was also finalist in both Violetta Dupont vocal competition in New Jersey and Opera Columbus vocal competition in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Jiang is also very active on the concert stages as a featured soloist. He has been heard in large choral works such as Orff’s Carmina Burana and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. Mr. Jiang received his Bachelor of Music Performance at the College of Charleston in 2010 and his Masters in vocal performance at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, where he worked with world renowned baritones such as Maestro David Holloway, Richard Stilwell and the legendary Samuel Ramey.
Currently, Mr. Jiang continues his work with a world distinguished tenor, Maestro Scott Flaherty while actively performing nationally and internationally. In addition, Mr. Jiang is a faculty at the Charleston Academy of Music in Charleston, SC.
Carla Ferreira Romaniuk was born and raised in Uruguay. During her education, Ms. Ferreira studied under Maestro Omar Naranjo (Montevideo), Daniel Elía (Buenos Aires), Susana Cardonnet (Head Coach at Colon Theater in Buenos Aires) and Guillermo Opitz (Chamber Music Foundation, Buenos Aires).
Internationally, she has performed in Suecia, Estonia, Dinamarca and all over South America in recitals, chamber music concerts and several international festivals with renowned soloists. Ms. Ferreira collaborated with conductors such as Stefan Lano, Ligia Amadio, Federico Garcia Vigil and Nicolas Rauss.
Currently, Ms. Ferreira is a faculty at the National School of Arte Lírico at SODRE Theater, as well as a vocal coach at the Solis and SODRE theaters of Montevideo, Uruguay where she resides with her daughter Isabella. Besides music, Ms. Ferreira enjoys photography and cooking.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Reflecting BACH
Christopher Hutton, violoncello
FMU Artist Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Thursday, September 28, 2017
Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, Christopher Hutton is the cellist of the Poinsett Piano Trio and is Associate Professor of Violoncello at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
He has performed widely, including solo and chamber music recitals in his home country, his adopted home of the United States, and in Europe. He has recorded for New Zealand’s Concert FM, Germany’s SWF Radio, and appears on a disc of contemporary music on Albany Classics. Christopher served as co-principal cellist of the New World Symphony Orchestra under music director Michael Tilson Thomas and has played in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as well as other orchestras in the United States. He has enjoyed collaborating with composers, notably New Zealanders Helen Bowater and Christopher Marshall.
Christopher studied at Boston University with Leslie Parnas, and earned Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees with Paul Katz and Steven Doane at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. While at Eastman he was teaching assistant to Prof. Doane and taught both for the University of Rochester and Eastman’s Community Education Division. He later taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Delaware, and the Eastern Music Festival before joining the faculty at Furman in 2003. Hutton plays on a cello made by John Betts in c. 1795.
A graduate of Boston University and the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, Hutton taught at the University of Rochester, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Delaware before coming to Furman. He has twice led Furman students to Arezzo, Italy for the music department’s “Music in Italy” study away program. When he’s not playing cello or teaching, Hutton is an enthusiastic runner. He has run several marathons, including the Boston Marathon.
Christopher plays a cello made in London by John Betts c.1795 and a modern bow made in Port Townsend, WA by Ole Kanestrom.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Cedric Lequeur as Clarence Darrow
a one-man play by David Rintels
FMU Artist Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Thursday, October 12, 2017
BLACK BOX THEATER – WORK IN PROGRESS – PERFORMANCE EVENT
CLARENCE DARROW: A ONE-MAN PLAY BY DAVID RINTELS
Independent actor and playwright Cedric Liqueur performs this two act work-in-progress performance based on Irving Stone’s 1941 biography “Clarence Darrow for the Defense.” The first performance was by actor Henry Fonda in the 1970’s.
Straying outside the boundaries of conventional, Liqueur’s eclectic one-man biopic of Clarence Darrow suffuses his passion for the solo performance and his homage to famous people in history by profession or attribute.
A champion of dissenters and underdogs, Clarence Darrow (1857-1936) was among the first attorneys to be called a “labor lawyer,” and he defended the teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb, and John T. Scopes in the famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial.
Cedric Liqueur is a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon. Since 1997 Liqueur has presented historical biographies as one-man solo performances throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
John Cariani’s Love/Sick
Glen Gourley, director
FMU University Theatre
Fine Arts Theatre, Hyman Fine Arts Center
7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, October 19-21, 2017
The Francis Marion University Theatre will open its 2017-2018 season with John Cariani’s Love/Sick.
THE STORY: A darker cousin to Almost, Maine, John Cariani’s Love/Sick is a collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays. Set on a Friday night in an alternate suburban reality, this 80-minute romp explores the pain and the joy that comes with being in love. Full of imperfect lovers and dreamers, Love/Sick is an unromantic comedy for the romantic in everyone.
“Sometimes playwright John Cariani looks at the world—actually the worlds—of love and relationships through rose-colored glasses. Just as often he views those worlds through lenses tinted a middling-to-dark-gray or maybe a jaundiced yellow…While poking fun at the happily-ever-after notion by means of a strong dose of happily-never-after, Cariani shoots his cockeyed valentines with a quiver full of funny lines. He knows how to keep audiences laughing while passing along disappointing news.” —The Huffington Post. “…Whimsical romantic comedy. In the nine vignettes that make up [the] play, couples meet [or] break apart or learn to love each other more…the jokes here are easygoing and snark-free.” —The New York Times. “[Love/Sick brings] to light the complexity of communication and what it means to not only love someone else, but yourself as well…Truly beautiful.” —TheSource.com. “A dark, amusing look at romance…strikes just the right balance between wisdom and whimsy…light, bright, anti-romantic, and engaging.” —The Hartford Courant. “Entertaining and fun. A satisfyingly dark look at this thing we call love.” —BroadwayWorld.com.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling 843-661-1365 between 1:00 and 5:00 pm. Thanks to Department of Fine Arts sponsorship, admission is free.
FMU String Ensemble
Terry Roberts, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm October 19, 2017
Open to all university students and faculty interested in learning and performing chamber music, the University String Ensemble members meet for weekly rehearsals during Fall and Spring academic semesters, giving public recitals and accompanying other campus ensembles.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
FMU Concert Band
Dr. Terry Roberts, conductor
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Tuesday, October 31, 2017
The Francis Marion University Concert Band will be performing its fall concert of the 2017-18 season at the FMU Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence.
The Francis Marion University Concert Band is composed of FMU students as well as community members from the Pee Dee region. Community members include professional area music educators, band directors, choir directors, ministers of music, and FMU music faculty members. Membership is open to all FMU students and area residents who are experienced concert band instrumentalists. Performances include traditional concert band music as well as popular and show music. The program began as a way to give students of FMU a chance to perform music, earn academic credit for performance in the ensemble, and to become involved with other students in campus life.
Beginning in the spring of 2002, the FMU Concert Band rehearsals were scheduled on Tuesday evenings and adult musicians from the region were invited to participate. The band continues to rehearse every Tuesday evening.
We are always seeking additional participants; if you play a band instrument or know someone looking for a place to play, please contact us. Information can be found at Music – Instrumental Program or email Dr. Terry Roberts at troberts@fmarion.edu
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Ciro Fodere, piano
FMU Artist Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Thursday, November 2, 2017
As the First Prize winner of the XIV Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofieff International Competition, Ciro Fodere‘s latest performances have been described as “masterful, electric, by turns fiery and lyrical” by The Post and Courier, and as featuring “technical sheen articulation, alert dynamic shading, and an imaginative approach” by The Miami Herald, which also raves, “edge-of-the-seat thrilling.” In addition to soloing with both major orchestras in Uruguay, he has performed numerous times as soloist with the Charleston Symphony, Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, Sendai Symphony in Japan, Philharmonic of Extremadura in Spain, Symphony of the Americas, the New World Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the NWSA Orchestra, and the Miami Symphony. Mr. Fodere was the winner twice at the Eastern Division Music Teachers Competition. After finishing his fellowship at the New World Symphony having performed with Joshua Bell and Renee Fleming, he participated with members of the NWS in Santa Cecilia, Rome, Perugia, and Carnegie Hall. He is currently the head of the Piano Department at the New World School of the Arts.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Percussion Lecture Recital by Shane Reeves
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Shane Reeves, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, received a DMA in Percussion Performance/Pedagogy at the University of South Carolina with a minor in music theory. He holds a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Florida and a Bachelors of Science in Music Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Shane has performed with the Central Florida Symphony, Fayetteville Symphony, Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, Palmetto Opera, South Carolina Philharmonic, Wilmington Symphony, J’Ouvert Steel Band, Pantasia Steel Band, Sunshine Steelers, Jacare Brazil, Woyate West African Drum and Dance Ensemble, as well as various rock and pop groups. As a member of the USC wind ensemble, Shane participated in a recording of the music of Leonard Bernstein for the Naxos label and was the principal percussionist during the ensemble’s concert tour of China in 2012. Shane was featured as a marimba soloist with both the University of Florida percussion ensemble and the UAB percussion ensemble. In addition, Shane is active as a freelance performer in various settings including musicals, operas, performances with various rock/pop groups and church concerts.
Shane currently teaches applied percussion and percussion ensemble at Francis Marion University and academic music courses at Midlands Technical College. Shane is endorsed by Innovative Percussion and is a member of the Percussive Arts Society.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm. Tickets are free to FMU Students/Faculty/Staff (must show ID). All other tickets are $5 each.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
FMU Music Industry Ensemble
Brandon Goff, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Chapman Auditorium, McNair Science Building
7:30 pm Thursday, November 9, 2017
The Music Industry Ensemble is a chamber ensemble devoted to the development of individual performance and improvisation skills through the staging of music for small groups representing a variety of classic and modern jazz, pop, rock and soul styles. The M.I.E. provides a workshop in which students also learn arranging, microphone technique and scheduling, sound reinforcement and lighting design.
Please contact Dr. Brandon Goff bgoff@fmarion.edu for additional information about participating in the M.I. Ensemble.
RESERVATIONS: Free admission, no advance reservations.
CANCELLED: Percussion Ensemble
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
CANCELLED, November 16, 2017
Senior Voice Recital by Geoffrey and Caroline Starling
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Adelle Kassab Recital Hall, Hyman Fine Arts Center
7:30 pm Saturday, November 18, 2017
Geoffrey and Caroline Starling, FMU Music Industry majors graduating in 2017, will be performing their “swan song” senior recital Saturday, November 18th at 7:30pm in Kassab Recital Hall.
The couple will be singing several beautiful duets from such great productions as Dogfight, The Next Five Years, and Don Giovanni, as well as solo repertoire from the classical era to twenty first century musical theatre.
RESERVATIONS: This performance is free and open to the public. No reservations, general admission.
CANCELLED: FMU Guitar Studio Recital
Dr. Alma Van Duys, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
CANCELLED, November 21, 2017
The FMU Guitar Studio Recital provides an opportunity for students enrolled in the Music 190: Guitar Ensemble to perform works written expressly for or adapted for multiple guitars.
FMU Jazz Ensemble
Dr. Paolo André Gualdi, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Caleb Oswald, guitar
Blake Avery, bass
Matthew Sanders, drums
Kevin Washington, guitar
Lawton Dupont, percussion
Paolo André Gualdi, piano & keyboard
Special guest: Fran Coleman, voice
The FMU Chamber Jazz Ensemble allows students in a small group setting to learn and hone improvisational skills within the the jazz idiom. Works have been selected from music by Corea, Glasper, Shorter, and more.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Francis Marion University Concert Choir and Cut Time Show Choir
Dr. Fran Coleman, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Monday, December 4, 2017
Open to all university students, the University Concert Choir has an average enrollment of between 35 and 45 students. This group has sung in numerous area churches and has also performed with the Florence Symphony Orchestra. They have performed such major choral works as the “Polovetzian Dance and Chorus” of Alexander Borodin, the “Schicksalslied” of Johannes Brahms, and the Ninth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Recently their concerts have included selections accompanied by the newly formed Francis Marion string ensemble.
Francis Marion’s show choir, CUT TIME is a small, audition-only vocal group. This group performs throughout the region for schools and service organizations. They have also performed in Orlando, Florida, in Baltimore, Maryland, in Washington, D.C., in Vienna, Austria, and on a performance cruise to the Bahamas.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Jon Conley, guitar
FMU Artist Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Thursday, January 18, 2018
Jon Conley is a mainstay of the Nashville music industry. Jon began playing guitar at seven (wanting to play like Roy Clark) and has branched out to include mandolin, fiddle, banjo, vocals and songwriting in his portfolio. Perhaps best known as the lead guitarist for the Kenny Chesney band, he has credits on recordings by a number of artists and attributes his success to practicing and taking every opportunity to perform seriously.
This informal performance is taking place while Jon is in Florence to work with music industry students at Francis Marion University.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Moliere’s The Miser
Keith Best, director
FMU University Theatre
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Wednesday-Friday, 2:00 pm Saturday, February 7-10, 2018
The Francis Marion University Theatre’s winter production will be Moliere’s The Miser directed by professor Keith Best.
THE STORY:
Harpagon.........................Malcolm Parker Cléante..........................Kevin Holloway Valère.......................Christopher Steele Master Simon/La Merluch........Jessica Sistrunk Master Jacques.................Indianna Watford La Flèche........................Charday Sparks Brindavoine/Anselme............Arielle Thompson Élise.............................Melissa Gragg Marianne..............................Joy Price Frosine.........................Aaliyah Broadus
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Robert Trent, guitar
Professor of Music, Radford University
FMU Visiting Artist Series
Kassab Recital Hall, Hyman Fine Arts Center
2:30 pm Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Robert Trent has performed on the continents of North and South America, Europe, and in Asia, performing on modern guitar, Renaissance lute, and historic instruments of the nineteenth-century, in particular the 10-string Scherzer and authentic 19thc.guitar. A first prize winner in numerous National and International competitions including; the Webb National Guitar Competition, the Masterworks Young Artist Competition (all instruments) and the chamber music prize at the International Competition “Arturo Toscanini” in Italy in Period Instrumental performance.
He is the first recipient of the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in guitar performance from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Julian Gray, Manuel Barrueco and lutenist Ronn McFarlane. He also holds a Master of Arts of degree from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) from whom he has received the Distinguished Music Alumni Award, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts.
Dr. Trent is in his 24th year as Full Professor of Music (Guitar and Renaissance Lute studies) at Radford University where he is in his 17th year as director of Radford University’s Annual International Guitar Festival. Many of his students are performers, educators and administrators at all levels in the U.S., and in Asia.
Since he is passing through the Florence area, he agreed to schedule a special free afternoon recital on Valentines Day.
RESERVATIONS: General admission, no advance reservations.
Sonny Paladino, pianist and composer
FMU Artist Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Thursday, February 15, 2018
Music Supervisor for the new Broadway Musical, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Music Director for the upcoming Broadway revival of Smokey Joe’s Café. Recent credits include: Associate Conductor; The Last Ship (written by 16 time Grammy Award winner, Sting), and the TONY winning best revival: Pippin. Other Broadway credits, Jesus Christ Superstar, Billy Elliot, Grease, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Guys and Dolls, Mama Mia, Promises, Promises, Addams Family, Women on the Verge. Music Supervisor for Disney’s High School Musical (Milan/Italy tour.) 1st National Tours: Disney’s High School Musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Grease. Arrangements and orchestrations for The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Work with Alicia Keys, Ke$ha, Matthew Morrison. As a composer: The Return of the Blue Cat (with poet F.D. Reeve.) TV: The X-Factor (Australia), The Next Big Thing. Music Director and arranger for the hit group The Doo Wop Project, which travels around the country performing classic Doo-Wop music and contemporary songs in that style. He earned his B.F.A. in Jazz Piano from CUNY City College.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
South Carolina Chamber Music Festival
Dr. Paolo André Gualdi, artistic director
FMU Department of Fine Arts, Artist and Lecture Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
February 19-23, 2018
The South Carolina Chamber Music Festival will host a series of chamber recitals to showcase the artists participating in workshops and masterclasses taking place throughout the week.
MONDAY 2/19/18
Masterworks for violin and piano
Danijela Zezelj-Gualdi, violin
Paolo Andre’ Gualdi, piano
7:30pm recital
TUESDAY 2/20/18
Faculty and Friends
With Nancy King, voice; Rob Nathanson, guitar
4:00pm Master classes (guitar, voice)
7:30pm recital
WEDNESDAY 2/21/18
Kobie Watkins, Drums
11am Lecture
4pm Percussion Master Class
7pm Live Recording Session
THURSDAY 2/22/18
Elizabeth Loparitz & Mauricy Martin, piano duo
2:30pm Lecture
4pm Open Rehearsal
7:30pm Recital
FRIDAY 2/23/18
Brahms Cello Sonatas – Viktor Uzur, cello and Vadim Serebryany, piano
7:30pm recital
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm. Advance reservations are strongly recommended due to intimate size of performing space.
Steve Watson Jazz Trio
with Wendy Jones, vocalist
FMU Artist Series
Kassab Recital Hall, Hyman Fine Arts Center
7:30 pm Thursday, March 8, 2018
Steve Watson has performed all over the world. He was a member of The University of Miami Concert Jazz Band that toured Switzerland, Cyprus, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia. From 1978 through1984 Steve was a member of The Bruce Hornsby Band. After moving to Los Angeles, he became a studio guitarist for television, movies and records.
Steve Watson graduated from Newberry College with a BA in 1974 and The University of Miami (Coral Gables) with a MM in 1977. Steve was an adjunct professor at The University of Southern California from 1981-1990 and lecturer at The University of Miami from 1977-1978. Steve is President of WatsonWood Music, Inc., Director of Jazz Studies at The Fine Arts Center, an art magnet high school in Greenville, and is an adjunct professor at Furman University.
A native of Westchester County in New York, Ian Bracchitta performs as a bassist in the classical, jazz and popular idioms. He has performed with Dianne Schuur, Kevin Mahogany, Hod O’Brien, Chris Vadalla, John Stowell, The Nelson Riddle and Cab Calloway Orchestras.
He received a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, studied jazz at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and attended the Westchester Conservatory during High School. He is on the adjunct faculties of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Furman University, University of North Carolina-Asheville, Clemson University and Converse College.
Rick Dilling received his B.S. at Appalachian State University. He has performed with Herb Ellis, Phil Woods, Clark Terry, Ron McCroby, Margarette Whiting, and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Rick is a member of the Todd Wright Quartet, the Wendy Jones Quartet, the Michael Jefery Steven Trio , the Asheville Jazz Orchestra and works freelance in the western NC and SC region. He has been a member of the jazz faculty at Appalachian State University for over 30 years.
Wendy Jones received a B.M. and an M.M. in vocal Performance from Appalachian State University and then joined the voice faculty there where she taught for 8 years before embarking on a full time, professional singing/acting career. She consistently receives accolades for her energetic and distinctive performances of gypsy jazz, jazz standards, modern jazz, and original jazz.
In addition to singing with her own jazz quartet, she is also the featured vocalist with the Asheville Jazz Orchestra, the Michael Jefry Stevens Trio, The Steve Watson Trio, and the Richard Shulman Quartet.
RESERVATIONS: Thanks to the Artist Series, this performance is free and open to the public. No reservations, general admission.
FMU Concert Band
Dr. Terry Roberts, conductor
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Tuesday, March 13, 2018
The Francis Marion University Concert Band will be performing its fall concert of the 2017-18 season at the FMU Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence.
The Francis Marion University Concert Band is composed of FMU students as well as community members from the Pee Dee region. Community members include professional area music educators, band directors, choir directors, ministers of music, and FMU music faculty members. Membership is open to all FMU students and area residents who are experienced concert band instrumentalists. Performances include traditional concert band music as well as popular and show music. The program began as a way to give students of FMU a chance to perform music, earn academic credit for performance in the ensemble, and to become involved with other students in campus life.
Beginning in the spring of 2002, the FMU Concert Band rehearsals were scheduled on Tuesday evenings and adult musicians from the region were invited to participate. The band continues to rehearse every Tuesday evening.
We are always seeking additional participants; if you play a band instrument or know someone looking for a place to play, please contact us. Information can be found at Music – Instrumental Program or email Dr. Terry Roberts at troberts@fmarion.edu
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Andrew Drannon, pianist and composer
FMU Artist Series / Burns Memorial Recital
Adele Kassab Recital Hall, Hyman Fine Arts Center
7:30 pm Thursday, March 29, 2018
Andrew Drannon is based in New York. He hails from Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked as Assistant Professor of Music Technology and Composition at Rhodes College. In 2017 he graduated from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and has been a composer fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival.
David Marshall Burns, Jr., and Catherine Koger Burns, natives of Charleston, South Carolina, were married and moved to Florence in 1933 where they became actively involved in civic activities and the arts. The Bums Recital Series was established in 1989 by Catherine Burns in memory of her husband and, upon her death in 1995, the Series was renamed the David Marshall and Catherine Koger Burns Memorial Recital Series.
Mr. Burns was a graduate of the Medical University School of Pharmacy, with a post-graduate degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. Mr. Burns was chief pharmacist at Roper Hospital in Charleston until 1933 when he became Medical Service Representative for Eli Lilly and Company, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, and moved to Florence.
He was a member of the South Carolina Pharmaceutical Association as well as the Traveling Men’s Organization. He served on the Board of Health of Florence and was Chairman of the Salvation Army Board. He was a member of the Board of Stewards of Central Methodist Church. He was volunteer instructor of pharmacology at McLeod’s Nursing School and was twice chosen by the nurses as outstanding teacher.
Mr. Burns was a member of the Society for Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Singing in America, Inc., an organization dedicated to the support of a hospital in Kansas which treats children with speech and hearing defects.
He was a member of The Graduates, a Quartet which performed at various affairs including Art’s Alive at Francis Marion University. He was honored by the local chapter in 1973 and again in 1984 when he was chosen Barbershopper of the Year. His hobby was antique clock collecting and repair. His collection of about 250 clocks went to a museum in North Carolina. After his retirement from Eli Lilly, Mr. Bums worked part-time at Dixon’s Drug Store on Dargan Street.
Catherine Koger Bums was a graduate of Memminger High School in Charleston and later earned degrees in Music and English at Coker College in Hartsville. A talented actress, she later took post graduate work at the University of North Carolina and studied drama at the Bennett School, Millbrook, New York. After a brief attempt to make a New York career in the theater, Mrs. Bums returned to South Carolina and taught piano in Midland, South Carolina, under the supervision of her cousin, Nell Mellichamp. Soon thereafter in 1933, she was married to David Marshall Burns of Charleston.
In Florence, Mrs. Burns continued to perform as a regular with the Florence Little Theatre and played several leading roles in radio dramas produced by WIS, Columbia, and WCSC, Charleston. As a frequent reader at her Sorosis Literary Club, Mrs. Burns became regionally recognized as an interpreter of the poetry of Dubose Heywood, Harvey Alien, and others. For many years Mrs. Burns performed dramatic readings and narrations at Christmas and Easter Holidays at Central United Methodist Church and Timrod Park. Probably, however, the most satisfaction she ever derived from the use of her talents was when she was “The Story Lady” and read classic stories to the children at the Florence Public Library. This cherished activity was resumed in her adopted hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, where she lived until her death in March 1995. This recital series is a tribute to David and Catherine Burns and their valuable contributions to the enhancement of the arts in the Pee Dee.
RESERVATIONS: Thanks to the Artist Series, this performance is free and open to the public. No reservations, general admission.
Kirstin Chavez, mezzo-soprano
Paolo André Gualdi, piano
“The Charms of Children”
FMU Artist Series
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Kirstin Chávez is considered one of the most riveting and significant performing mezzo-sopranos today. Her powerful voice with its expansive range, the dramatic intensity of her acting, and her natural sensuality combine to make her an arresting and unique presence on the operatic and concert stages.
Ms. Chávez has captured attention and acclaim in her signature roles and is recognized as one of the definitive Carmens of today, creating her Carmen in nearly 40 different productions throughout the United States and around the globe. Opera News reported that her Carmen in Graz, Austria was “the Carmen of a lifetime. With her dark, generous mezzo, earthy eroticism, volcanic spontaneity and smoldering charisma, Chávez has it all, including a superb command of French and a sense of humor.” Ms Chávez has also showed great success in various pants roles, including Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier (Florentine Opera), Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Atlanta Opera), and Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo (Metropolitan Opera).
Italian pianist Paolo André Gualdi regularly performs recitals and gives master classes in the United States, South America, Asia and Europe. He has recorded for Mark Records and IFO Classics, and his performances have been broadcasted by radios such as BBC, NPR and Radio Vaticana. He has won the top prize in numerous piano competitions, including the First Prize in the 15th Bartók-Kabalevsky International Competition. He is the founder and artistic director of the South Carolina Chamber Music Festival and is currently Associate Professor of Music at Francis Marion University.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
FMU Percussion Ensemble
Shane Reeves, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Tuesday, April 10, 2018
The percussion ensemble performs music written expressly for percussion. The works performed by the ensemble utilize a variety of percussion instruments and encompass a multitude of musical styles including classic works for percussion ensemble, world music, transcriptions, and contemporary percussion music.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
CANCELLED: FMU Guitar Studio Recital
Dr. Alma Van Duys, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Thursday, April 12, 2018
The FMU Guitar Studio Recital provides an opportunity for students enrolled in the Music 190: Guitar Ensemble to perform works written expressly for or adapted for multiple guitars.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Steven Dietz’s Rocket Man
Dr. L. Dawn Larsen, director
FMU University Theatre
Fine Arts Theatre, Hyman Fine Arts Center
7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, April 12-14, 2018
The Francis Marion University Theatre will close its 2017-2018 season with Steven Dietz’s Rocket Man.
THE STORY: ROCKET MAN is a serious comedy about the road not taken. Donny Rowan has placed everything he owns on his front lawn, along with a sign that reads: “Here’s my life. Make an offer.” He has cut a skylight into his attic and placed his E-Z Boy recliner underneath—where he can sit, staring at the stars. Somewhere in the universe, Donny believes, is a place where all the roads we never chose converge. ROCKET MAN explores one man’s obsessive desire to find this “parallel world”—and the profound effect of his decision on his family and friends.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling 843-661-1365 between 1:00 and 5:00 pm. Thanks to Department of Fine Arts sponsorship, admission is free.
FMU Jazz Ensemble
Dr. Paolo André Gualdi, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Tuesday, April 17, 2018
The FMU Chamber Jazz Ensemble allows students in a small group setting to learn and hone improvisational skills within the the jazz idiom. Recently, works have been selected from music by Metheny, Corea, Ritenour, Jobim and others.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Francis Marion University Concert Choir and Cut Time Show Choir
Dr. Fran Coleman, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Monday, April 16, 2018
Open to all university students, the University Concert Choir has an average enrollment of between 35 and 45 students. This group has sung in numerous area churches and has also performed with the Florence Symphony Orchestra. They have performed such major choral works as the “Polovetzian Dance and Chorus” of Alexander Borodin, the “Schicksalslied” of Johannes Brahms, and the Ninth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Recently their concerts have included selections accompanied by the newly formed Francis Marion string ensemble.
Francis Marion’s show choir, CUT TIME is a small, audition-only vocal group. This group performs throughout the region for schools and service organizations. They have also performed in Orlando, Florida, in Baltimore, Maryland, in Washington, D.C., in Vienna, Austria, and on a performance cruise to the Bahamas.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
FMU Music Industry Ensemble
Brandon Goff, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Thursday, April 19, 2018
The Music Industry Ensemble is a chamber ensemble devoted to the development of individual performance and improvisation skills through the staging of music for small groups representing a variety of classic and modern jazz, pop, rock and soul styles. The M.I.E. provides a workshop in which students also learn arranging, microphone technique and scheduling, sound reinforcement and lighting design.
Please contact Dr. Brandon Goff bgoff@fmarion.edu for additional information about participating in the M.I. Ensemble.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
FMU String Ensemble
Terry Roberts, director
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Performing Arts Center/Downtown Florence
7:30 pm Friday, April 20, 2018
DATE CHANGED FROM MARCH 29 TO APRIL 20!
Open to all university students and faculty interested in learning and performing chamber music, the University String Ensemble members meet for weekly rehearsals during Fall and Spring academic semesters, giving public recitals and accompanying other campus ensembles.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Studio Voice Recital of Dr. Fran Coleman
FMU Department of Fine Arts
Adele Kassab Recital Hall, Hyman Fine Arts Center
7:30 pm Monday, April 23, 2018
Come celebrate the accomplishments of voice students in Dr. Coleman’s studio as they perform classical as well as contemporary songs.
RESERVATIONS: This performance is free and open to the public. No reservations, general admission.
