April 11: Arts International

January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day Program

Clementi will speak at FMU’s Holocaust remembrance program

FLORENCE – Francis Marion University will observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a special program on Tuesday, Jan. 27 in Cauthen Educational Media Center’s Lowrimore Auditorium on the FMU campus at 4 p.m.

The presenter for the FMU observance will be Dr. Federica Clementi, University of South Carolina associate professor of Jewish Studies and the Peter and Bonnie McCausland Fellow of English Language and Literature. Clementi is nationally known researcher and writer on the Holocaust. She is the author of Holocaust Mothers and Daughters: Family, History, and Trauma;and her article “Nightbirds, Nightmares and the Mothers’ Smile: Art and Psychoanalysis in Sarah Kofman’s Life-Writing” won the Modern Language Association’s Florence Howe Award for Feminist Scholarship.  

Clementi teaches undergraduate and graduate courses about the Holocaust, Jewish literature and Jewish American culture at USC.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day was created by the United Nations General Assembly in November 2005. The selected date commemorates the liberation ofAuschwitz-Birkenau on Jan. 27, 1945. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the Nazi death camp.

The observance is free and open to the public.

For more information on the event, contact Dr. Daphne Carter-McCants, assistant dean of students, at rcarter@fmarion.edu or (843) 661-1188.

November 18: FMU's Cut Time Show Choir Performance

Francis Marion’s Show Choir Concert 

directed by Sue Orr

Cut Time is an audition-only group which combines singing and choreography

Department of Fine Arts

7:30 pm

Adele Kassab Recital Hall

Hyman Fine Arts Center

August 19-September 16: Bits and Pieces-New works by Adrian Rhodes at FMU's Hyman Fine Arts Center

August 19 - September 16, 2014 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Mon-Fri Hyman Fine Arts Center Gallery Bits and Pieces - New Works by Adrian Rhodes. Adrian Rhodes is a native of Hartsville, S.C. She earned her B.F.A. from Winthrop University, and during her undergraduate studies she spent a semester studying fine art in Imatra, Finland. She completed her M.F.A. in painting and printmaking from Winthrop University and is currently teaching at Wingate University. "I am interested in studio practice as a way to question--I am interested in the act of making. I don't try to illustrate an idea, rather I let process guide the piece and find its meaning in the method used to create it. Printmaking is an important part of my process. I create editions, and pull additional prints from the matrix that I deconstruct and use as college material in my mixed media pieces. This leads to recurring imagery across my work that becomes part of my personal iconography, and the meaning I find in these different images helps me to determine the meaning of the larger works. “I like paper, texture, and color. I take cast off things and collage them into my work: onion bags, bits of string, and the mylar press bed covers marked by ink and registration marks. I pick up feathers, dead moths, bees, and scraps of books. Nothing is sacred, and nothing is trash. A "finished" piece might be deconstructed into components for many other paintings, or I might sweep up the studio floor and make a collage of whatever I find. Including these random bits of life in the work blurs the line between studio and sidewalk. “My finished work reflects the enjoyment in manipulating materials: drawn mark making, paint manipulations, printmaking processes, collage and transfer techniques. I find the tension between rigid structural forms and organic, intuitive mark making reflects internal conflict. This tension explores a desire to control life, counterpoised against the futility of that effort. It is recognizing the correlations between my studio and the world outside that allows me to create work which reflects the meaning inherent in the search."

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."

May 18th: The Masterworks Choir's Spring Concert

THE MASTERWORKS CHOIR SPRING CONCERT

Four Mystical Songs by Vaughan Williams

                  Te Deum by Dvorak

Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams

              Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 5pm

             FMU Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence

                     Free Admission!

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.

February 19th: The Role of FMU in the Medical Education of the Pee Dee

There has been an explosion of educational and training opportunities in medicine in the Pee Dee area in recent years. This growth promises to make Florence a major player in medical education in South Carolina. A majority of this growth has been under the umbrella of Frances Marion University and the dynamic leadership of the President of FMU Dr. Fred Carter.

On Wednesday, February 19 Dr. Carter will discuss the changes in medical education in the Pee Dee, the role of FMU, the present programs and facilities and future plans.

Dr. Carter has served as President of FMU since 1999 and previously served as Executive Director of the Budget and control Board and as Chairman of the Department of Political Science at the College of Charleston. He received his BA degree from the University of Central Florida and his advance degrees from USC. He has written 5 books and numerous articles. He has received many awards and honors and since becoming President of FMU he once served as “Part Time Governor” when Governor Mark Sanford was serving on Active duty in the military!

Since arriving in Florence Dr. Carter has become a leader in many community affairs – this presentation will emphasize the roles which he and FMU have played in the advancement of medicine in Florence and the Pee Dee.

For the “Live @ Central” evening, the Program begins at 6:30. There is a dinner at 5:30pm. Cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children.

Reservation for dinner at 843-662-3218.                                            

FMU to host Hollywood director and playwright

Stephen Belber 

When Francis Marion University’s Department of Theatre presents the play Tape at the Performing Arts Center in February, its author, Stephen Belber, will be there.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, Belber will participate in a talkback with the audience and cast members after the play. Tape runs Feb. 19-22 in the FMU Performing Arts Center’s Black Box Theatre at a cost of $5. The play contains language and scenes of an adult nature. Parental guidance is advised for those younger than the age of 15.

During his visit, which is co-sponsored by FMU’s Honors Program, Artists and Lecture Series and Department of English, Belber will meet with students in FMU Professor of English Jon Tuttle’s Playwriting Workshop.

Tuttle recalls one of Belber’s early plays, The Transparency of Val, which won the Trustus Playwrights Festival Award and was produced by Trustus in Columbia in 2000 during his tenure as literary manager at Trustus.

“He was absolutely fantastic,” says Tuttle. “I think his presence will be a real inspiration for aspiring writers and actors especially, but also for anyone who enjoys being deeply engaged by a theatrical experience and talking about it afterwards.”

Tape is set in a hotel room where an aspiring filmmaker on the verge of hitting it big hooks up with an old friend and admits to have raped a girl they both dated in high school. He learns later that his confession has been recorded and that the same girl is about to join them. Show Business Weekly called the play a “sordid and beautiful take on human relationships,” and The New Yorker called Belber an expert at “torturing his characters with the things that never get said, yet [his] language is uniquely telling and the underlying grief shines through.”

FMU Theatre Professor Keith Best, who is directing FMU’s production, first saw Tape nearly 15 years ago and thought it would be perfect for an intimate performance space.

“Tape is an ideal play for the new PAC Black Box,” Best says. “I look forward to revisiting this very intense play with our students. The topic is timely and should make for a great production and a great dialogue with the author when he visits.”

Tape is arguably the play that propelled Belber to prominence. Since its premiere at the world-famous Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1999, the play has received numerous productions in New York, Dublin and London and been made into a feature film starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard.

“Belber has since become an even more accomplished playwright and has a bundle of great scripts,” says Best.

He is a highly regarded writer, director and actor with Hollywood and Broadway credits. His play Match, for instance, opened on Broadway in 2004 and starred Frank Langella and Ray Liotta. Belber himself directed the soon-to-be-released movie version of Match, starring Patrick Stewart, Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard.

Tape and Belber’s other plays have been produced in more than 25 countries. His off-Broadway credits include Don’t Go Gentle (2012), Fault Lines (2008, with Noah Emmerich), A Small Melodramatic Story (2006) and McReele (2005). After he co-authored and starred in The Laramie Project, about the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, Belber appeared on the cover of American Theatre magazine. The Laramie Project has since been made into a movie starring Christina Ricci and Steve Buscemi. A recent play, The Power of Duff, recently opened in Boston, and his newest play, The Muscles in Our Toes, will be produced this spring by New York’s Labyrinth Theater Company.

His other movies include Drifting Elegant and Management featuring Jennifer Aniston. He is currently preparing to direct The Kindness of Strangers, starring Josh Duhamel. Belber also has extensive television credits, including Rescue Me, Law & Order SVU and pilots for HBO and F/X.



For tickets, call the PAC Box Office at 843-661-4444 between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call Tuttle at 843-661-1521.

February 4th: FMU Winter Band Concert featuring Roderick Brown at the FMU PAC

FMU Winter Band Concert – Tuesday, February 4, 2014 7:30 p.m., at the FMU Performing Arts Center.  Featuring Florence’s own Roderick Brown on Saxophone.  He will be performing music from the motion picture Catch Me If You Can and the great jazz standardBlue Bossa.

$5 for adults, and school kids get in FREE!  (Middle and HS students, please bring school ID)   Tickets may be purchased at the door the night of the concert.  To keep up-to-date with Francis Marion's Cultural Events please visit:  http://departments.fmarion.edu/finearts

More info:

Mr. Leon O. Harvey was the band director at Wilson High School for 43 years from 1960 till his retirement in 2003. Under his leadership Wilson had numerous bands of distinction. Harvey instilled the joy of music and developed superior musicianship in his students.  When Mr. Harvey was asked for recollections on his former student, Roderick Brown, he answered “He’s always been an outstanding student,   He is serious about music and that’s the main thing”.   “That’s pretty much what we stress as (band directors), playing afterwards, not only just in high school but to find places to perform in church, for recreation, military.”  “I've always been proud of him.” 

Roderick Brown, 1995 Wilson HS Alumnus never stopped playing and performing even while obtaining a degree in Chemistry from Francis Marion University in 2006.  Roderick did just what Mr. Harvey expected out of his students, he continued to perform. 

Brown has been playing the saxophone for 25 years. He started band in public school under the leadership of his first and most influential band director and mentor, Mr. Leon O. Harvey. Roderick recalls when Mr. Harvey, who was a fine saxophonist, demonstrated to the class how a melody in their method book, "Abide With Me," was to be played.  "Mr. Harvey borrowed my horn, and played the hymn beautifully. Everything changed for me.  I knew then that I would stick to the saxophone."  Inspired by Mr. Harvey, Roderick would practice earnestly. 

In high school he earned chairs in the South Carolina All State Honor Band for Alto Saxophone and Oboe.  He can be found performing on all woodwind instruments around the Pee Dee.  Roderick currently performs with the Florence Little Theatre Orchestra, FMU Concert Band, and frequently with the Florence Symphony Orchestra.  He serves as a musician at Maxwell Baptist Church in Florence, SC.  He has also served at other churches in the area: St. John's Episcopal Church, Florence Baptist Temple, Mount Zion Methodist Church in Kingstree, SC and Main Street United Methodist Church in Dillon, SC.  He performs with the Woody's.  He recently started playing in a jazz duo with guitarist Thomas McBratney.  

Brown will be featured on the FMU Winter Band Concert, Tuesday February 4, 2014 7:30pmat the FMU Performing Arts Center.    He will be performing on Alto Saxophone Catch Me If You Can by John Williams Arranged for Band by Jay Bocook.  The piece is from the Movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks and contains music from its soundtrack.   Chris will then switch musical genres as well as musical instruments as he performs the great jazz standard Blue Bossa on Tenor Saxophone.

The Winter Concert on February 4 will also contain traditional band literature from Alfred Reed, Alleluia!  Laudamus Te, an energetic opening selection;  The Fives Prevail!,  a contrasting melodic piece; Our Kingsland Spring by Hazo; and light hearted, The January February March by Don Gillis.

The spring concert on April 15, 2014 will feature another outstanding FSD1 Music Student, Thomas Middleton,  who recently graduated with a Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from The Boston Conservatory.

Tickets for the Winter FMU Band Concert are free to all youth (middle and high school students will need  to show an ID).  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 Mondaythrough Friday 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 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.

Call to Photographers: Poskito at the ATG

January 26th: Robert Sims at the FMU PAC

Even from childhood, Robert Sims has been a lover of music, with a special ear, voice – and heart -- for spirituals.

Sims’ reverence of, and passion for, that most American of genres will be on display for Florence audiences Sunday Jan. 26 at the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center when Sims performs as part of the university’s special Community Concert Series. Tickets for the 3 p.m. event are just $5 – the special pricing is in place for all Community Concert Series events – and Sims will be accompanied by Ann Rodgers Chandler of Lake City. Chandler performed with Sims last year when he appeared at the Arts International Festival.

Sims, a Chicago native, began playing the piano by ear before he began lessons at about age 12. With an audience of one – his mother – Sims would play what he heard his neighbor render on her piano. Later, he infused his own adaptation of spiritual songs.

Sims says there is something deep and communal about spirituals that spoke to him at an early age, and still speaks to him today.

“With gospel, you know who the composers are,” says Sims. “Spirituals are the Southern sacred folk songs created and sung by African American slaves.”

No one knows who created spirituals, but they have assumed a position of collective ownership by the whole community, he adds.

For his concert at the Performing Arts Center, Sims will present songs illustrating the lifecycle of Christ and spirituals associated with the Underground Railroad escape. A Sims’ favorite is the call and response song, “Is There Anybody Here Who Loves My Jesus?” Sims says he desires to introduce attendees to new melodies through the music of the past.

“I hope they take a journey with me through music, which can have different meanings for all of us,” Sims says. “There is something about this genre of music that propels one to go forward – a vehicle of hope.”

Sims was reared in Chicago and Southern California, He was educated at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, SUNY Binghamton, Northwestern University and Music Academy of the West.

In 2005, Sims made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall and was invited by Jessye Norman to participate in “Honor! A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy” in March of 2009. He recently appeared with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and made his debut in the United Kingdom with the Gibraltar Philharmonic. He has performed in concert at New York’s Lincoln Center, at the Smithsonian Institution, and as part of the Ravinia, Chautauqua, Savannah, Grant Park, and Big Arts summer music festivals. He has also performed at the Latour de France International Music Festival, and the celebrated American Church in Paris. Under the auspices of Canti Classics, Community Concerts and Live On Stage Series, Sims has performed more than 150 recitals throughout the United States.

Robert has appeared several times in performance on the Hour of Power from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, which is broadcast internationally, and was the focus of a Public Broadcasting Service special Artbeat Chicago. He has toured nationally in the ensemble Three Generations, a celebration of American spirituals and folk songs with renowned artists George Shirley, the late William Warfield and Benjamin Matthews. Recently, he debuted with Simon Estes and Jubilant Sykes in the trio Simon, Sykes & Sims, singing spirituals and American songs.



Sims’ artistry is highlighted on four compact discs produced by Canti Classics: Soul of a Singer, Sims Sings Copland and Spirituals, In The Spirit, and Three Generations. He is also featured as a guest artist on two recordings with the Moses Hogan Chorale: Deep River, and Gotta Home in Dat Rock.

October 21st: Pianist Paolo Andre Gualdi at the FMU PAC

FMU Faculty Recital

Monday, 21 October 2013, 7:30 pm

Performing Arts Center, Downtown Florence

An Evening of Franz Liszt

Paolo André Gualdi, piano

Italian pianist Paolo André Gualdi has played recitals in Italy and the United States, both as a soloist and chamber musician. He has been a featured soloist with the Atlanta Philharmonic, Georgia Philharmonic, Ludwig Symphony, Parma Wind Orchestra, Warren Civic Orchestra, and the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra. In Italy he has given recitals for the A.Gi.Mus., Accademia Ori, Accademia Amadeus and others. He has also performed for the International Piano Series of Charleston, American Liszt Society, Piccolo Spoleto Festival USA, Cincinnati Conservatory, and Eastman School of Music in Rochester.

Gualdi began studying piano with his father at the age of five, and continued at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy. He earned his Piano Diploma with highest honours at the Conservatory Arrigo Boito in Parma with Roberto Cappello. While in the US, he earned a Masters Degree in Piano Performance at Carnegie Mellon University under the tutelage of Enrique Graf, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance at the University of Georgia with Evgeny Rivkin. He participated in master classes with György Sandor, Earl Wild, Menahem Pressler, Sergio Perticaroli, and had several years of private studies with Carlo Maria Dominici.

He has won the top prize in numerous piano competitions, including the European Competition of Ostuni, the Altruda National Competition of Vasto and the Françoise Grimaldi National Competition of San Polo. Winning the “De Martino Award” at the Ibla International Piano Competition enabled him to study at Elon University. During this period he won the First Prize in the Southeastern Piano Competition of Whiteville, North Carolina, and the 15th Bartók-Kabalevsky International Competition in Virginia.

Gualdi has served on the faculties of Elon University, Emmanuel College, Oxford College of Emory University, and is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Francis Marion University and coordinator of the South Carolina Chamber Music Festival which will return to Florence this February 24-28, 2014.

RESERVATIONS: Reservations may be made by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center at 843-661-4444 between 12:00 and 5:00 pm. The first 100 tickets for each Mainstage performance are free to FMU students (you must show your FMU ID at the Box Office to receive a ticket); all remaining tickets are $5 each.

Thomas takes Best of Show in the Amateur Division at the SC State Fair

Congratulations to Tiffany Thomas! 

Tiffany recently won 'Best in Show' in the Amateur Division at the South Carolina 2013 State Fair's Fine Art Exhibition.  The winning piece (shown above with Tiffany) is titled "Whelm." 

On behalf of the entire Pee Dee:

Congratulations, Tiffany!

Through November 7th: Alex Palkovich's 'In Homage" at FMU

Don't miss Alex Palkovich's exhibit, In Homage, at the Hyman Fine Arts Center on the campus of Francis Marion University in Florence.  The exhibit opens on October 8th and runs through November 7th.  The gallery is open from 8:30-5pm Monday through Friday.  Admission is free.

The Hyman Fine Arts Center is located at 4822 East Palmetto Street in Florence.

Sculpture has always been Alex's passion. He is a member of the Oxford Arts Society and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) where for 3 years he also served as Vice President.  In 2010, he became the first South Carolinian elected as a member of the National Sculpture Society. He has lived and worked on three continents and in five countries. During that time, he continued to learn and take on new sculptural challenges. Alex's work is in private and public collections around the world. His sculptures are available to the public in galleries in Carmel, California, Charleston, Brookgreen gardens and Florence, S.C, and Haifa, Israel.  

Einstein Relief was accepted into the National Sculpture Society's 79th Annual in 2012, and On the Way to the Marketwas exhibiting this year in Artfields at the Tampa Museum,and until 27 September 2013 in Brookgreen Gardens in the National Sculpture Society's 80th Annual Exhibition.

Through October 3rd: Hayley Douglas' World Without Walls at FMU

World Without Walls, ceramics by Hayley Douglas, will be on display at Francis Marion University's Hyman Fine Arts Gallery through October 3rd. The gallery is open from 8:30am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

In addition to Douglas' work, Emprical, a photography exhibit by Julie Mixon, will be on display at the Hyman Gallery.  Click here for information about Mixon's work.

Hayley Douglas is primarily a ceramic artist, but she also experiments in other mediums. As of May 2013, she received her Master's Degree in Ceramics at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. She completed her Bachelors of Arts degree in 2009 at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. She is currently continuing to explore her ocean-inspired concepts and pushing her experimentation to more cosmic levels.

Through October 3rd: Julie Mixon's Empirical on display at FMU

Empirical, photography by Julie Mixon, will be on display at the Hyman Fine Arts Center Gallery on the campus on Francis Marion University through October 3rd. The gallery's hours are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm.

Julie Mixon is an image-based media artist that focuses on processes that merge analog and digital photography. Currently, Julie is an Assistant Professor of Photography at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. She began her studies in photography as an undergraduate at Barton College where she received a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts. In 2004, she received her Master of Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in photography from East Carolina University. Julie's career in photo education began at Lenoir Community College in 2004 where she taught as an Art Instructor for over seven years. Her photography courses emphasize traditional and digital darkroom techniques with an emphasis on the fusion of the two mediums.

In addition to Mixon's exhibit, Hayley Douglas' World Without Walls will be on display in the Hyman Gallery through October 3rd.  Click here for more information about that exhibit.