Furman hosts Church Music Conference Jan. 21-22

Dr. Dennis Keene

Furman University will host its 2016 Church Music Conference on campus Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21 and 22.

The conference is open to the public. Registration for the two-day event is $70 on or prior to Jan. 7, and $90 after that date as space remains.

Founded in 1971, the Furman University Church Music Conference is made possible through a grant from the Thomson Foundation. Drawing church musicians from all over the Southeast, the conference features nationally known clinicians who present lectures and conduct workshops relating to the practice of church music. Guest clinicians for this year’s conference are Dennis Keene and William Bradley Roberts.

Dennis Keene is Organist/Choirmaster of The Church of the Ascension (Episcopal), New York and Music Director of the acclaimed ensemble Voices of Ascension, known both nationally and internationally for their spectacular CD recordings of repertory from all periods. Keene will present sessions on choral techniques and conducting, including a master class at which selected conference attendees will conduct for, and receive feedback and coaching from Keene. He will also conduct open rehearsals with the Furman Singers, Furman Chamber Choir, and the adult choir of Greenville’s Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Dr. William Roberts

William Bradley Roberts, author of Music and Vital Congregations: A Practical Guide for Clergy, will present sessions on Clergy/Musician Working Relationships, Hymnody of Our Time, and his own critically praised sacred choral compositions.

Assisted by the Furman Singers and Furman Chamber Choir, Furman Professor of Organ Charles Tompkins will present a recital on the magnificent C.B. Fisk Organ, Opus 121, in the Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel.

More information about the Church Music Conference may be found at this link. Or contact conference coordinator and University Organist Dr. Charles Tompkins at (864) 294-2969, or by email, charles.tompkins@furman.edu. The Furman Music Department may be reached at (864) 294-2086.