March 31-April 17 and April 21-May 9: Senior Shows by FMU Visual Artists

Senior Shows by FMU Visual Arts Majors at the HYman Fine Arts Center Senior shows are required of all students majoring in Visual Arts. These shows give students hands-on experience in selection and installation of artworks, publicity of exhibition, and external review by the University community and the general public.There will be opening receptions at 6:00 pm on March 31 and Tuesday, April 21. Gallery hours are typically 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday-Friday

April 11: Arts International Schedule of Events

Francis Marion University’s Arts International festival is moving to downtown Florence.

The longstanding festival, one of the Pee Dee’s great spring traditions, will bring its regular mix of art, music and food to downtown Florence on April 11. Activities will center on FMU’s Performing Arts Center. The ever-popular Blue Dogs headline the list of artists scheduled to perform.

As the festival changes locales, it is also acquiring new partners. The City of Florence is joining FMU as major festival participant. Florence-Darlington Technical College will once again hold its popular welding sculpture competition in conjunction with the event, and St. John’s Episcopal Church is providing space for festival parking and events. Other sponsors include Honda of SC, Nan Ya Plastics, Florence County, Pepsi Cola of Florence and the Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The festival has been held for nearly 40 years on FMU’s main campus.

“Arts International has had a great run on campus,” says FMU President Dr. Fred Carter. “But the opportunity to move to downtown, to partner with the city and others, and to take advantage of new facilities was hard to resist. This will be a superb location and it will enhance and rejuvenate the festival. We think this is going to be a great event for years to come.”

Florence Mayor Stephen Wukela says the new festival location will help add to the momentum downtown.

"The city is thrilled to join with Francis Marion University in bringing the University’s renowned Arts International Festival to Downtown Florence,” says Wukela. “This move will serve to enhance this fine cultural event and provide further opportunities for our community to enjoy Downtown Florence. It represents yet another example of the continued cooperation between the university and the city towards our shared goals."

The event will begin at noon and run until 6 p.m., and it is open to the public. There is no admission charge, but there is a cost for food and drink.

The premier event at this year’s festival will be a 2 p.m. performance by the Blue Dogs. The “Dogs” are an earthy Southern rock band from South Carolina, and a well-known favorite of Pee Dee music fans. The Blue Dogs were formed in Charleston in 1987 by lead singer/guitarist Bobby Houck and bassist Hank Futch, who had known each other since childhood and played together in college. Drummer Greg Walker came along later, joining the band in 1993. The festival’s signature event is scheduled for the amphitheatre of the FMU Performing Arts Center.

FMU’s Music Industry Ensemble and the Celtic Rock Band Stirling Bridge are also slated to perform in the PAC amphitheatre.

The FMU String Ensemble, Vocal Edition, pianist Paolo Gualdi, violinist Terris Roberts and pianist Sumire Worman are all scheduled to perform in the PAC Black Box.

Other scheduled acts include the Jabali African Acrobats, the Chief Kamu Fire and Hula Show and the Chinese Acrobats. They will offer festival goers a unique perspective on arts from around the world on the festival’s International Stage. A variety of strolling musicians and performers will patrol the festival area, providing impromptu entertainment throughout the day.

Other events will include FDTC’s famous welding sculpture competition. The competition will feature teams of experienced craftsmen who will create breathtaking pieces of art on the fly, using a pile of scrap material brought in for the occasion.

Also on tap: an arts and crafts fair featuring the work of local and regional artisans, children’s activities, art displays in the Florence County Museum and Waters Building Annex, and an international food court.

The festival is the union of two former festivals, Art’s Alive and the Pee Dee International Festival. Its roots date back to 1977.

For more information on this year’s Arts International festival, go tohttp://www.fmarion.edu/news/artsinternational.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

Time	PAC Amphitheatre	Variety	Blackbox	Various Locations
12:00	MI Ensemble	Jabali African Acrobats		·         Strolling Bagpiper, ·         Acoustic Acts ·         Steel Drums ·         Hula Lessons ·         International Cooking Demonstrations ·         FDTC Welding Sculpture Competition ·         Artisan’s Court ·         International Food Court ·         International Beer and Wine Gardens ·         Children’s Activities (Games, Arts & Crafts) ·         Art Displays (Florence County Museum and Waters Building Annex) ·         Book Sale
12:30	Stirling Bridge (Celtic Rock)
1:00		Chief Kamu Fire and Hula Show (Polynesian Dance)	FMU String Ensemble
1:30
2:00	Blue Dogs (Southern Rock)	Chinese Acrobats	Vocal Edition
2:30
3:00		Jabali African Acrobats	Paolo Gualdi
3:30	Stirling Bridge (Celtic Rock)
4:00		Chinese Acrobats	Terris Roberts (violin) and Sumire Worman (Piano)
4:30

November 11 - December 13: FMU's Senior Art Show

Senior Shows by Graduating FMU Visual Arts Majors Catrice Ezekiel, Kimberly Hurter, Elizabeth Kinser, Philip McElveen, Black Sansbury, Shuvonta Smalls and Kree Terry

Senior shows are required of all students majoring in Visual Arts. These shows give students hands-on experience in selection and installation of artworks, publicity of exhibition, and external review by the University community and the general public.

Nov. 6-7: Pee Dee Fiction & Poetry Festival

Pee Dee Fiction & Poetry Festival set for Nov. 6-7

FLORENCE – The Ninth annual Pee Dee Fiction & Poetry Festival at Francis Marion University will bring to campus four award-winning authors on Nov. 6 and 7. The two-day festival will celebrate the works of Megan Abbott, Ron Carlson, Denise Duhamel, and Tim Seibles.

The event is held in Cauthen Educational Media Center’s Lowrimore Auditorium and all sessions are free and open to the public.  The Festival features writers paired together in panel discussions during the morning sessions, and Individual authors in readings and discussions in the afternoon and evening.  Books by the authors can be purchased at the venue. Book signings follow the evening events.  A reception at The Cottage at FMU with the writers will cap each evening.

This year’s authors represent varying voices in poetry and fiction, says FMU faculty chair and English Professor Rebecca Flannagan. Flannagan co-chairs the event’s organizing committee, along with Dr. Jo Angela Edwins, also of FMU’s English Department.

“This year’s authors look at the world through a variety of lenses,” says Flannagan. “Some of the authors share commonalities, but the Festival strives to showcase various ways of looking at the world through writing.”                             

The Pee Dee Fiction and Poetry Festival originated in 2006 as the Pee Dee Fiction Festival, the brainchild of FMU President Dr. Fred Carter. The festival has expanded to include poets as well as fiction writers. Notable participating authors have included Andre Dubus III, National Book award winter Terrance Hayes, former Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, Tobias Wolff, and others.

To learn more about the Pee Dee Fiction & Poetry Festival, go to www.peedeefiction.org.

2014 Pee Dee Fiction and Poetry Festival

Authors at a Glance

Megan Abbott

Abbott is the Edgar Award-winning author of seven novels, including Dare Me, The End of Everything and her latest, The Fever, which was chosen as one of the Best Books of the Summer by the New York Times,People, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon and the Los Angeles Times. Her stories have been in many anthologies, such as Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year and the Best American Mystery Stories of 2014. She is also the author of The Street Was Mine, a study of hardboiled fiction and film noir. She has been nominated for awards including the Shirley Jackson Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Hammett Prize. She lives in Queens, New York.

Ron Carlson

Carlson’s newest novel is Return to Oakpine.  His short stories have appeared in Esquire, Harpers, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and other journals, as well as The Best American Short Stories, The O'Henry Prize Series, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction and other anthologies; they have been performed on National Public Radio’s “This American Life” and “Selected Shorts.” Ron Carlson Writes a Story, his book on writing, is taught widely.  He is the author of two books of poems, Room Service and The Blue Box.  He has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the Cohen Prize at Ploughshares, the McGinnis Award at the Iowa Review, the Aspen Literary Award; and his novel Five Skies was one of the 2009 Reading Across Rhode Island selections.  Carlson is the director of the Graduate Program in Fiction at the University of California, Irvine. 

Denise Duhamel

Duhamel's most recent book of poetry Blowout (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of a 2014 Paterson Poetry Prize. Her other books include Ka-Ching! (Pittsburgh, 2009), Two and Two (Pittsburgh, 2005), and Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems (Pittsburgh, 2001). The guest editor for The Best American Poetry 2013, she is a professor at Florida International University in Miami. Duhamel’s honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been included in several volumes of Best American Poetry, and has also been featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Bill Moyers’s PBS poetry special “Fooling with Words”.

Tim Seibles

Seibles is the author of several poetry collections including Hurdy-Gurdy, Hammerlock, and Buffalo Head Solos. His first book, Body Moves, (1988) has just been re-released by Carnegie Mellon U. Press as part of their Contemporary Classics series. His latest, Fast Animal, was one of five poetry finalists for the 2012 National Book Award. In 2013, he received the Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Award for poetry and received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Misericordia University for his literary accomplishments. Most recently, he received the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Award for Fast Animal, given triennially for a collection of poems. During the spring semester of 2010, Tim was poet-in-residence at Bucknell University. A National Endowment for the Arts fellow, he also enjoyed a seven-month writing fellowship from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center in Massachusetts. His poetry is featured in several anthologies; among them are: Rainbow Darkness; The Manthology; Autumn House Contemporary American Poetry; Black Nature; Evensong; Villanelles; and Sunken Garden Poetry. His poem, "Allison Wolff" was included in Best American Poetry 2010 and, most recently, his poem "Sotto Voce: Othello, Unplugged" was featured in Best American Poetry 2013. Seibles is visiting faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in Writing Program sponsored by the University of Southern Maine. He lives in Norfolk, Va., where he is a member of the English and MFA in writing faculty at Old Dominion University.

Summer Exhibit at Francis Marion's Hyman Fine Arts Center

Primitive Arts in the Modern World - Greg Pryor.“There is great wisdom in the native American proverb, ‘A man must make his own arrows.’ Beyond the metaphorical, making arrows in the modern world connects us to the primitive world of our ancestors. Working in a variety of media, I strive to use natural resources to create arrowheads, knives, and spearheads from flint, obsidian, glass, and porcelain. I manufacture and shoot arrows and atlatl darts made from these arrowheads and locally-sourced river cane, pine pitch glue, wild turkey feathers, and deer sinew. I grow, cure, and process gourds into a variety of containers, and make cordage, tools, bags, clothing, and jewelry from wild plant fibers, bone, clay, stone, sinew, rawhide, and brain-tanned hides.” Greg Pryor is an Associate Professor of Biology at Francis Marion University with a doctorate in Zoology. He is a traditional artist (working in a variety of media), carpenter, construction worker, cook, and amateur musician, and he practices primitive arts such as bow-and-drill firemaking and survival crafts. He likes to live off the land as much as possible and is a self-proclaimed "nature freak." Notes  From the Curator: Dr. Pryor double majored as an undergraduate in zoology and art.  His acrylic paintings, most often of birds, reveal animals interacting with human artifacts, sometimes using them, sometimes existing in a landscape littered by them. Pryor’s primitive crafts give us insight into the interaction of early humans with the natural world.  His crafts also give us an opportunity to consider how art crept into craft, as useful objects came to be decorated, placing the indelible stamp of the artisan on everyday objects.  The Hyman Fine Arts Center, located on the campus of Francis Marion University is open 8:30 -5:00 pm Monday through Thursdays. This exhibit runs through August 16.

Through August 21st: 'Primitive Arts in the Modern World' in the Hyman Fine Arts Center at FMU

Francis Marion University's Art Gallery Series is hosting 'Primitive Arts in the Modern World' by Greg Pryor through August 21, 2014 at the Hyman Fine Arts Center Gallery. The gallery is open 8:30am to 5pm, Monday through Thursday.

About the Exhibit:

There is great wisdom in the native American proverb, "A man must make his own arrows." Beyond the metaphorical, making arrows in the modern world connects us to the primitive world of our ancestors. Working in a variety of media, I strive to use natural resources to create arrowheads, knives, and spearheads from flint, obsidian, glass, and porcelain. I manufacture and shoot arrows and atlatl darts made from these arrowheads and locally-sourced river cane, pine pitch glue, wild turkey feathers, and deer sinew. I grow, cure, and process gourds into a variety of containers, and make cordage, tools, bags, clothing, and jewelry from wild plant fibers, bone, clay, stone, sinew, rawhide, and brain-tanned hides.

Greg Pryor is an Associate Professor of Biology at Francis Marion University with a doctorate in Zoology. He is a traditional artist (working in a variety of media), carpenter, construction worker, cook, and amateur musician, and he practices primitive arts such as bow-and-drill firemaking and survival crafts. He likes to live off the land as much as possible and is a self-proclaimed "nature freak."

Country music legend Clint Black is coming to the PAC on Friday, May 30th!

Clint Black’s stop at the PAC will be an acoustic show featuring his talents as both a singer/songwriter and musician. Michaelis, a Texas group made up of three sisters who’ve been singing together since they were in elementary school, will be the opening act.

Tickets for the Florence show go on sale Monday, May 5 at noon. However, if you are attending the Marty Stuart concert this Saturday, May 3rd, there will be a special advance sale at the PAC box office and you will be allowed to purchase Clint Black tickets before everyone else on Monday – just show the Box Office your Marty Stuart ticket!

Prices for tickets to the Clint Black concert begin at $49 and VIP seats are $69. Tickets can be purchased online at www.fmupac.org beginning Monday, May 5, at noon, by phone at (843-661-4444), or in person, at the PAC Box Office at 201 S. Dargan St. in downtown Florence. The box office is open M/W from noon to 6 p.m. and T/Th/F from noon to 5 p.m.

During his storied career, Black has produced more than two dozen number one hits. His first two albums, Killin’ Time and Put Yourself in My Shoes, both went platinum. He’s churned out hits for more than two decades while becoming a country music icon. Black is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and also earned a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Black has appeared in several movies.

A singer and a songwriter, Black has long been declared one of country music’s brightest stars. His many talents have helped shape his long career, as Black has transcended genres to become one of the most successful artists in all the music industry. To date, Black has written, recorded and released more than 100 songs, a benchmark in any artist’s career. An astounding one-third of these songs eligible for major single release also achieved hit song status on country radio, while more than 20 million of his albums have been sold worldwide.

Black’s continued success can be attributed in part to his deep sense of country music history, and his humble gratitude in being an important part of it. The 1989 debut of his critically acclaimed fan favorite, the triple platinum Killin’ Time, marked a shift in the industry, with a return to the more traditional sounds of the genre. Country Music Television lists this album as one of the 100 Greatest Albums in Country Music.

May 18th: The Masterworks Choir's Spring Concert at the FMU PAC

The Masterworks Choir, under the direction of Dr. William Carswell, will present its Spring concert Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 5:00 PM. The much awaited concert will be held at the FMU Performing Arts Center with soloists and orchestra. The featured selections are "Te Deum" by Anton Dvorak and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Five Mystical Songs" and "Dona Nobis Pacem." The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.masterworkschoir.org.

June 20th: The Indigo Girls at the FMU PAC!

The Grammy Award-winning Indigo Girls, one of folk rock’s most popular duos, will join with the Florence Symphony Orchestra for a very special concert at 7:30 p.m. June 20 at the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show start at $69 and will go on sale at noon on Monday, April 28^th. Tickets are available in person at the PAC box office (201 S. Dargan St.), online at www.fmupac.org or by phone at 843-661-4444.

Twenty years after they began releasing records as the Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have politely declined the opportunity to slow down with age. With a legacy of releases and countless U.S. and international tours behind them, the Indigo Girls have forged their own way in the music business.

Selling over 14 million records, they are still going strong. Amy & Emily are the only duo with top 40 titles on the Billboard 200 in the '80s, '90s, '00s and '10s.

“Along with Simon & Garfunkel and The Everly Brothers, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers rank at the very top of all-time great duos. The sublime music-making-machine-skewering “Making Promises” is one of their finest rockers.” – The Boston Herald

After signing to Epic Records in 1988, the Indigo Girls released their critically acclaimed eponymous album to thunderous praise; it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for 35 weeks, earned double platinum status, received a Grammy nomination for “Best New Artist” and won “Best Contemporary Folk Recording.”

They were overnight folk icons who continued to live up to the high standards they’d set for themselves: they’ve since released 14 albums (3 platinum and 3 gold), received six Grammy nominations and have won one. Indigo Girls have toured with innumerable star acts including Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, R.E.M., Sarah MacLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Jewel and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

The duo has balanced their long, successful musical career by supporting numerous social causes – the Indigo Girls don’t just talk the talk; they walk the walk. Having established an intensely dedicated fan base, the duo continues to remain relevant and attract new fans. With their latest release, Beauty Queen Sister, released on Vanguard Recordings, Emily Saliers and Amy Ray have secured their spot as one of the most legendary musical acts of this generation.

“Their 14th studio album finds the Indigo Girls operating as powerfully as at any time in their career, on a set of uncommonly strong songs performed with the kind of typically understated Nashville polish that affords their signature harmonies the full spotlight.” ____– The Independent (UK)

May 5th: Symphony to end Season With a POP!

The weather is warming up nicely, but the Florence Symphony is already red hot and not to be missed! Come see the Florence Symphony Orchestra perform its 2013-2014 season finale under the direction of Music Director Dr. Terry Roberts on Monday, May 5, 2014 at the FMU Performing Arts Center.

The evening will begin with Haydn's Kindersymphonie in C major or also known as the Toy Symphony. There will be toys in this performance too, featuring Joe Youmans, Kuckoo; Ken Baker, Trumpet; Rusty Ray, Rattle; and Susan Rowe, Nightingale.  Then the evening will move on to Sergei Prokofiev's “Peter and the Wolf” op. 67 featuring narrations by Patricia Burkett from the WBTW news station. Following intermission will be a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie arranged by Craig Alberty for the FSO. The last piece of the evening will be Dmitri Shostakovich's  Suite for Variety Orchestra. It will be a very fun evening of Pops music that you won't want to miss!

There will also be an opportunity to purchase a subscription to the Florence Symphony Orchestra's 65th concert season. The 2014/2015 concert season will be the symphony's 65th and will have special concerts celebrating the occasion. So get in on the celebration and come purchase your season subscription on the night of the May 5, 2014 concert!

It will be a May Pops not to be missed! Please call and reserve your seats today for our Season Finale. Adult tickets start as low as $29 with senior and student discounts available. Contact the FMU Performing Arts Box Office for your tickets by visiting or calling 843.661.4444 today!   

For more information regarding the Florence Symphony please visit our website florencesymphony.com and LIKE us on Face book!

Jon Tuttle named FMU's Distinguished Professor

Jon Tuttle, professor of English at Francis Marion University, was announced as FMU’s J. Lorin Mason Distinguished Professor for the 2013-14 academic year at the school’s annual faculty awards dinner Thursday night.

The award, named in honor of a former chairman of the FMU Board of Trustees, is the highest honor to be bestowed upon an FMU faculty member. While it was announced at Thursday’s dinner, it will be presented formally at FMU’s spring commencement Saturday, May 3.

The award has been given since the 1975-76 school year and is based upon a faculty member’s contributions to teaching, professional service and scholarly activities. It is FMU’s highest academic award and also means Tuttle will be the FMU nominee for the Governor’s Professor of the Year Award competition in the fall.

“Jon Tuttle has made significant contributions to Francis Marion University and its students through his teaching, his scholarship and his leadership of our honors program,” said Dr. Luther F. Carter, Francis Marion University’s president. “The university is a better place because he’s here.”

Tuttle joined the FMU faculty in 1990. He specializes in dramatic and modern literature. Tuttle is director of FMU’s Honors Program and co-coordinator of the international studies program.

Tuttle is also playwright-in-residence and literary manager at Trustus Theatre in Columbia. His plays have won national and regional awards and have been produced or received staged readings in 25 states.

Tuttle also has published numerous articles, made many academic presentations, conducted writers' workshops and served as adjudicator for various playwriting and fellowship competitions. He is a member of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Alpha Psi Omega Dramatic Fraternity.

Tuttle earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications from the University of Utah, and master's and doctoral degrees in English from the University of New Mexico, where he also taught. He also earned a certificate in modern British literature and culture from Edinburgh University in Scotland.

In 2010, Tuttle received the Award for Excellence in Service by FMU.



In an unusual convergence, the announcement of Tuttle as the award winner coincided with his birthday.

April 12th: Arts International at FMU

Join FMU for a spectacular experience of art and culture with international performing artists, visual artists, exotic foods, cultural displays and the FDTC Welding Sculpture Competition. A variety of music -- from blues to brass -- dance, and theatrical performances are scheduled on multiple stages, indoors and out. Stop by the youth art center or try your hand at chalk art. Arts International is a festival you don't want to miss! 

All the details are available here: http://www.fmarion.edu/news/artsinternational

April 12th: Arts International at FMU

With the flare of a Mexican ballet and the groove of a blues guitar, Arts International returns April 12 to Francis Marion University's campus. The all-day event will feature both inside and outside stages, with music, art and exotic food galore.

This year’s event will feature a wide range of musical styles and entertainment. One of the performers, Steve Gryb, will travel from his home in Miami as part of his national tour to share his brand of “edutainment” all across the country.

A music professor for 20 years, Gryb decided to return to his roots as a performer and now spends his time traveling, performing about 150 shows a year.

“I like to tell people that everyone has rhythm, and it’s my job to bring it out of them,” Gryb said. “I started out as a performer, was a professor for 20 years and now it has come full circle because I am a full-time performer again.”

Gryb said that for him, his shows are just as much about informing the audience and getting them involved as they are about the music.

“My show is educational as well as entertaining,” Gryb said. “I am a pioneer of a concept that I call edutainment because during my shows I interject educational qualities as I perform, telling people about the music styles and instruments. People enjoy that because it is interaction. They’re learning something, and they’re having fun.”

Besides having two performances, Gryb also will bring his Perucssion Petting Zoo for event attendees to explore. The exhibit will give people a chance to examine instruments from around the world up close and personal. They also will see such unique instruments as a “wrench-a-phone,” a xylophone made of old wrenches.

“I’ll bring hundreds of instruments that make unique sounds,” Gryb said. “People can come by and they can touch and play the instruments. I have all kinds of instruments that I have collected on my travels.”

Other performers at the event will include the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, a storytelling group that uses dance instead of words as well as several local groups, including The Plaids and the Florence Men’s Choral Society.

This will be the last year that the Arts International event is held on the Francis Marion campus. Next year, it will be moved to the Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence. Event committee member Cathy Johnson said the hopes are that moving the event will be a boost for the downtown area and get local restaurants and businesses involved.

This article was written by Melissa Rollins and originally appeared on SCNow.com.

April 15th: The FMU Band presents Favorite Baritone Arias and Songs

The spring concert for the FMU Concert Band, Favorite Baritone Arias and Songs will feature Thomas Middleton’s baritone voice.  Thomas Middleton is now living a dream, performing opera in Boston while maintaining a private lesson voice studio. Middleton is from a musical family and grew up in Timmonsville.  He is a FSD1 graduate who earned a BM in Vocal Performance from Furman University and a MM and Professional Studies Certificate (graduating in May 2014) from The Boston Conservatory.

While his love for music was nurtured at home, he also participated in the public school music programs of FSD1 and with his church choir.  Thomas participated in school choir, was a South Florence Choralier, played trumpet through high school and was the jazz guitarist for the SFHS jazz band. 

Thomas Middleton has performed with Boston Opera Collaborative, the North End Music and Performing Arts Center (Boston), the Lyrique-en-Mer opera festival in Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, the Furman Opera Theater, and The Boston Conservatory Opera. 

For this homecoming concert, the FMU Concert Band will feature Thomas’ Classical Voice on music from famous operas; Gounod’s Faust “Avant de Quitter ces lieux”, Largo al factotum from Rossini’s Barber of Seville, a selection from Handel’s Messiah and even a Gershwin favorite.

The FMU Favorite Aria and Songs Band Concert is Tuesday April 15, 2014 7:30pm at the FMU Performing Arts Center.   

Tickets for the Spring FMU Band Concert are free to all middle and high school students who show an ID and those younger. All remaining tickets are $5 each and may be purchased at the door the night of the concert.  Tickets may also be purchased in advance by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center Box Office (843-661-4444) or visiting the Box Office Monday throughFriday from 12-5 p.m.  The Box Office is also open 90 minutes before any Presenting Series event, Florence Symphony Orchestra concert, or Department of Fine Arts performance.  The first 100 tickets are free to FMU students who present valid FMU ID's at the Box Office.  For this concert,  Tickets are not available online.  To keep up-to-date with Francis Marion's Cultural Events please visit:  http://departments.fmarion.edu/finearts.

March 2nd: Bishop Michael Blue presents The Tribe at the FMU PAC

V-Day 2014: Call to Artists

About The V-Day Art Exhibit
The Art Show is in conjunction with V-Week and the performance of the Vagina Monologues. All of the events for the week are centered around raising awareness of violence against women and to raise funds for the Pee Dee Coalition to support their work to help women and their children who have been victims of domestic abuse. Given this mission, we would prefer work that may deal with this issue, other women's issues and/or be women centered pieces, but that is not a requirement, except for the Wearable Art Show.

Participation
We have 3 opportunities for artist participation:

1. Art Show and Sale both at FMU and at the FMU Performing Arts Center (PAC)We have more space for artists, including wall space, for display at the FMU show, Thursday, March 27 from 5-7:30.

On Saturday, March 29, we have limited table space, no wall space, for display at the PAC show, also from 5-7:30.

We request that you donate at least 10% of your sales at either of these shows to the Pee Dee Coalition.

2. Wearable Art ShowFor this event we are seeking artists of varying backgrounds and mediums to create pieces that may be displayed on a moving model.

The theme of these works should be "Strength", as our theme for the V-Week this year is "Standing Strong". All media welcome and encouraged.

These pieces will be displayed just prior to each performance (Thursday, March 27, FMU and Saturday, March 29, PAC) in a "runway" show where each artist will introduce and briefly discuss their piece.

3. E Pluribus Ovum This was inspired by the recent "Art Vending Machine" movement. For this event, we are asking artists to donate small pieces of work that will fit inside a 3.25" plastic egg. You may or may not choose to adorn the egg as well.
Eggs may be picked up at the Art Trail Gallery (availability TBA) and at FMU in the Fine Arts Office in the Hyman Fine Arts Building. These works will be sold sight unseen to patrons for $5.
Completed, filled eggs must be returned for sale by Monday, March 24 at 12pm. All of the proceeds going to the Pee Dee Coalition.

FMU Contact for more information:

......Allison Steadman ......Ph: 843-661-1685......Email

February 24th - March 1st: South Carolina Chamber Music Festival