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<\/a>The Furman Symphony Orchestra will perform its opening concert for the Sound Quality Concert Series on Friday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. in McAlister Auditorium on campus.<\/p>\nThe concert, \u201cThe Apotheosis of the Dance,\u201d is open to the public and features works by Beethoven and Bernstein. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students. The concert is part of Furman\u2019s Cultural Life Program, and is an official Homecoming weekend event.<\/p>\n
FSO conductor Thomas Joiner leads the 75-student member orchestra in Beethoven’s \u201cSymphony No. 7,\u201d described by Wagner as \u201cthe apotheosis of the dance.\u201d Soliloquies and excerpts from Shakespeare’s play, \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d\u00a0serve as the backdrop for Leonard Bernstein’s \u201cSymphonic Dances from West Side Story<\/em>.\u201d Furman voice professor Bruce Schoonmaker offers Shakespeare.<\/p>\n Joiner\u00a0has appeared as a conductor, violinist, chamber player and teacher throughout the United States and eleven foreign countries. As professor of violin and orchestral activities at Furman, he conducts the FSO in orchestral, operatic, and oratorio performances each year. He is music director and conductor of the\u00a0Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra (N.C.). For 31 seasons he was an artist-faculty member of the Brevard Music Center (N.C.), and held the Dr. and Mrs. William J. Pendergrast, Sr. Artist Chair, serving as a concertmaster of the Brevard Music Festival Orchestra. He was honored in 2009 with the Distinguished Alumni Award.<\/p>\n Joiner holds a doctorate in violin performance from Florida State University, a master\u2019s of church music (musicology) from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a bachelor\u2019s (music performance) from Furman University.<\/p>\n