Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Choir to perform April 10

Dr. Thomas Joiner

The Furman University Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Choir will perform a spring concert Thursday, April 10 at 8 p.m. in Daniel Memorial Chapel on campus.

Dr. William Thomas

A Sound Quality Series event, tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students.

The Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Furman Music Professor Dr. Thomas Joiner, and the 36-member Chamber Choir is led by Furman’s Dr. William Thomas.

The concert opens with Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, Tympani, & Strings in G minor featuring University Organist Dr. Charles Tompkins, and Furman’s Dr. Omar Carmenates, performing on tympani. The concerto is followed by Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, op. 9, set in nine movements.

Says Thomas, “Our hope for this particular performance is that the confluence of the ancient fragments of chant, the modern majesty of the Chapel and its organ, Duruflé’s devotional genius, and the budding talent of our beloved student musicians creates a memorable experience for listeners and performers alike.”

For more information about the concert, call the Furman Music Office at 864-294-2086.

About Thomas Joiner

Dr. Thomas Joiner has worked as a conductor, violinist, chamber player, and educator across the globe. At Furman, he conducts the Furman Symphony Orchestra in orchestral, operatic, and oratorio performances each year. He also serves as the music director and conductor of the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra (N.C.). For more than three decades, Joiner served as a member of the artist-faculty of the Brevard Music Center (N.C.), holding the William J. Pendergrast, Sr. Artist Chair. He also served as a concertmaster of the Brevard Music Festival Orchestra. A native of Rock Hill, S.C., Joiner has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Louisville Orchestra. He previously taught at the University of Georgia School of Music, and served as the South Carolina president of the American String Teachers Association and was a member of the national board of directors of the Conductors Guild.

About William Thomas

Dr. William Thomas served as Chair of Furman’s Music Department for nearly two decades, and currently teaches studio voice and vocal pedagogy, directs the department’s study away program, Music in Italy, and regularly conducts major works for choir and orchestra. A member of the Furman faculty since 1987, his career is marked by constant activity as a solo and ensemble singer, conductor and clinician, nearly forty years of college teaching and administration, and a number of significant church music positions. His work with the Furman Chamber Choir includes the annual presentation of a Festival of Lessons and Carols in Furman’s Daniel Chapel. Thomas worked closely with the late Robert Shaw studying, performing and recording in the U.S. and abroad. His association with Shaw led to his being named Director of the 1998 Robert Shaw Choral Institute, held on the Furman campus, and to his work as assistant editor of Robert Blocker’s A Robert Shaw Reader, Yale University Press, 2004.