Piano
and Organ
Pianists and organists, both music majors and non-majors, will find exceptionally
rich and multifaceted opportunities for study and performance at Furman. In addition
to private study with outstanding artist faculty members, students gain performing
experience through weekly music department recitals, keyboard area and studio
classes, degree recitals, numerous and varied accompanying and chamber music 
opportunities,
concerto concerts, ensemble concerts, and much more. Recitals and master classes
with significant artists are presented each year. Keyboard study at Furman also
encompasses the growing field of music
technology, utilizing state-of-the-art computer and MIDI facilities in the
new Herring Music Pavilion and Maxwell Music Library.
Exceptional instruments available to Furman students include concert grand
pianos by Steinway, Bösendorfer, and Yamaha; French and Italian harpsichords
by Philip Tyre;
the 3-manual Holtkamp organ in McAlister auditorium; and practice organs by
Steiner-Reck, Ott, and Holtkamp.
The
Hartness Organ: The crown jewel of Furman’s keyboard program is the
magnificent 3-manual, 42-stop Hartness Organ, built by the renowned C.B. Fisk
Organ builders of Gloucester, MA. This visually and aurally stunning organ,
located in the beautiful Charles E. Daniel Chapel, was custom built and voiced
for a room described by the legendary conductor Robert Shaw as “one of
the most acoustically outstanding performance spaces in America.” The
Hartness Organ (named in honor of longtime Furman supporters Tom and Edna Hartness,
who provided the funds for the instrument) employs direct mechanical or “tracker”
key action, which affords the organist the most precise control of the speech
of the pipes. The instrument’s stop list includes sounds drawnfrom a number
of historical organ building traditions, and provides for outstanding performance
of solo organ literature from all periods; colorful, dynamically flexible accompanying
of voices and instruments; and strong leadership of congregational singing.
From the ethereal whisper of the voix celeste stop to the floor-rattling splendor of full organ, the Hartness Organ sounds forth every year in exciting solo recitals by University Organist Charles Boyd Tompkins and prominent guest artists. Organists of national and international reputation appear as part of the Posey and Jean Belcher endowed organ recital series, and in conjunction with Furman’s annual Church Music Conference. Recent recitalists have included American organ virtuoso Todd Wilson, Chair of the Organ Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Andrew Henderson, Director of Music at New York City’s Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and First Prize Winner of the 2003 Royal Canadian College of Organists National Organ Playing Competition. The Hartness Organ is also heard regularly in concerts with choirs and instrumental ensembles, as part of the weekly University worship service, and in special settings such as Furman’s beloved Service of Lessons and Carols, held each December. View specifications (pdf).
KEYBOARD FACULTY
Charles Tompkins, Area Coordinator, Organ, Harpsichord, Music Theory
Susannah Steele, Class Piano, Music Theory, Accompanying
David Gross, Piano, Student Accompanist Supervisor (sabbatical 07-08)
Vivian Hamilton, Staff Accompanist
Daniel Koppelman, Piano, Music Technology, Music Theory
Ruby Morgan, Piano
Ruth Neville, Piano
Derek Parsons, Piano, Music Theory