A Note from the Chair

Dear Furman Music friends,

I hope that this second edition of our relaunched Furman Department of Music Newsletter finds you well as we approach this special holiday season. The new faculty I introduced to you in our last newsletter, along with their faculty colleagues, are engaged in exceptional and life-changing work. As we continue to resume an increased level of activities post-pandemic restrictions, our faculty, in conjunction with a renewed and re-energized partnership with our friends in admissions, have been successful in recruiting the next generation of Furman music alumni. This fall, we are thrilled to have welcomed 43 new intended music majors, our largest incoming class since 2019, along with another 20 highly involved non-music major participants. We also presented over 40 public events this fall, with a larger number scheduled for the spring.

In this fall’s newsletter, you will read about the growth in our band program (along with the addition of alum David Stanley ’14 as our Associate Director of Bands), alumni success, collaborative student/faculty research, and a tribute to our dear Judy Vick. We also invite alumni to share news with us directly using this form. We want to hear what is happening in your lives and careers, and this quick form is the best way to ensure that information gets to the right place. We are excited to celebrate your success with you!

As the semester winds down, our students are performing juries and taking final exams after playing last weekend for an FCS playoff game in the rain, providing a stellar performance of Messiah that saw over 1400 in attendance, and supporting the Greenville community in the Poinsettia Christmas Parade!

Best wishes,

Randall Umstead, DMA
The Gordon and Sarah Herring Chair
Department of Music