January 13th: St. John's Church to open its 8th Annual Epiphany Concert Series

St. John’s Church in Florence will open its Eighth Annual Epiphany Concert Series with a performance by cellist Richard Thomas on Sunday, January 13 at 6:00 p.m. in the church’s parish hall. Dr. Thomas will be accompanied by pianist Nathaniel Fryml. The concert will feature works by Boccherini, Brahms, and Piazolla.

There is no charge for the concerts, but donations are appreciated. Light refreshments will be provided. St. John’s is located at 252 S. Dargan Street in Florence. Parking is available in the lot behind the church.

Dr. Richard Thomas is Assistant Professor of Music at Presbyterian College and director of the Presbyterian College Chamber Orchestra. He is a member the Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium Orchestra in Anderson, South Carolina, and founding member of the North Carolina-based Atlantean Trio. Thomas spent a decade in Latin America as a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Colombia (Bogotá), the OrquestaSinfónica del Valle (Cali), the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (Dominican Republic), and as faculty member of the Universidad del Cauca, Universidad del Valle in Colombia, and the Conservatorio Nacional of the Dominican Republic. He has been a member of the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Augusta Symphony, the East Texas Symphony, the Dallas Lyric Opera Orchestra, and most recently was principal cellist of the Wilmington Symphony and Tallis Chamber Orchestra in North Carolina. In addition, Thomas has been on the faculties of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and from 1999-2008 was String Department Head at Camp Encore-Coda in Sweden, Maine. In 2010 Thomas gave a series of recitals in Japan including performances at the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, and gave a series of pre-college master classes at the Jhong-Shin School in Taipei, Taiwan. Thomas studied at the Cleveland Institute, DePauw University, Temple University, the University of North Texas, and received a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of South Carolina.

Nathaniel Fryml is a pianist, conductor, and composer currently residing in upstate South Carolina. He serves as Director of Music at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Clinton, SC, and works as staff accompanist at Presbyterian College and Clemson University. He also teaches through the Piedmont Music Program in Clinton and has served on the faculty of Piedmont Technical College. Increasingly active as a choral and instrumental conductor, Mr. Fryml received his primary training as a pianist, earning a dual degree in piano and music theory/composition from Furman University and the Master of Music degree in piano performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Mr. Frymlis a member of the Music Teachers National Association and the American Choral Directors Association.

The remainder of the series slate is as follows: Blue Mountain Ensemble (bassoon, flute, piano), January 20; Jazz Charleston Trio, January 27; Svetlana and Milana Streveza (soprano, piano), February 10. A downloadable brochure is available at www.stjohnsflorence.org.