Methodist University announces support of its annual “Friends of Music Guest Artist Series” with the help of a grant in the amount of $3,000 from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.
Methodist University announces support of its annual “Friends of Music Guest Artist Series” with the help of a grant in the amount of $3,000 from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.
Each year, the “Friends of Music Guest Artist Series” provides live classical and contemporary musical demonstrations and recitals for up to 500 youth and adults in Cumberland County.
“Arts Council funding enables us to bring nationally recognized musicians to Fayetteville, which directly impacts residents, our students, and young artists in primary and secondary education,” said Dr. Susan Durham-Lozaw, chair of the MU Performing Arts Department. “These amazing musical enrichment opportunities are open to everyone in the Cumberland County area free of charge. We are so very grateful.”
Each visit includes an 11 a.m. master class in MU’s Hensdale Chapel, a private workshop at The Capital Encore Academy, and a 7:30 p.m. recital in Matthews Chapel on campus. For the first time in this series, one artist will also offer a drumming workshop at UNC Pembroke. For more information about Friends of Music, visit here.
- Sept. 16, 2022 – Thomas Burge, trombonist with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, is originally from Australia, earned his master’s degree at Julliard School, and now lives in North Carolina. His career spans collegiate brass instruction, international symphony performances, and guest clinician/soloist across the country. Burge also hosts a radio show and conducts/manages brass ensemble groups.
- Oct. 14, 2022 – Megan Kenny, violinist, is a member of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, military spouse, and Fayetteville resident. Originally from Montana, Megan holds a Master of Music degree in violin performance from Yale School of Music. She currently holds teaching positions at UNC Pembroke, Campbell University, and Red Lodge Music Festival.
- Feb. 10, 2023 – Yolanda Rabun, vocalist is a North Carolina-based singer who performs and records across genres in jazz, soul, R & B, gospel, folk, and contemporary music. Rabin also performs throughout the region in musical theatre, opera, and radio programs.
- March 24, 2023 – Liz Broscoe is a drumming performer and facilitator who specializes in West African djembe and dunun drums. A resident of Lake Tahoe, Calif., she performs a theatrical solo drumming show, with her drum group, and as a member of a funk, jazz and blues band. With the support of local and national grant funding, she is current a teaching artist in several area schools and facilitator of social development drumming in juvenile treatment centers.
“The Arts Council is pleased to partner with Methodist University in support of the Guest Artist Series,” said Bob Pinson, Interim President and CEO of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. “We are also pleased that more funds have been made available for the Project Support Grants for 2022-23 and that we are reaching deeper into previously underserved areas of our community as evidenced by the many new applicants this year.”
The Series Support grant from the Arts Council will fund professional fees for recitals and public-school workshops performed by each musician during the entire season.
About the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County
The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization based in Fayetteville, NC that supports individual creativity, cultural preservation, economic development, and lifelong learning through the ARTS. As a primary steward of public and private funding for arts, cultural, and historical activities in the Cape Fear Region, all affiliated programs of the Arts Council exemplify our 5 core values: Excellence, Accountability, Transparency, Collaborations, and Innovation. theartscouncil.com
In the year 2021-22, the Arts Council distributed almost $1 million in grant funds and allocations to Cumberland County arts and culture non-profit organizations, artists, and municipalities.
Grants, programs, and services of the Arts Council are funded in part by contributions from community partners, and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.