Dr. Patti Foy traveled to Washington, D.C. to represent the South Carolina Music Educators Association at the Leadership Assembly of the National Association for Music Education. She visited the offices of Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott as well as the office of Congressman William Timmons to advocate for federal legislation supporting music education in…
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A degree in Education from Converse is recognized throughout the southeast as the mark of a quality educator. Our graduates have earned honors including Presidential Educator of the Year, National Marine Educator of the Year, and the Order of the Palmetto. See where our recent graduates are teaching: Lauren Anderson — Shoally Creek Elementary School…
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Some say teaching is an art. A handful of Converse arts professors say teaching art comes naturally to artists, anyway. So they created—then won— one of Converse’s highly competitive Creativity, Community, and Cultural Enrichment (C3) grants for an outreach program that lets Converse arts students teach underserved elementary schoolchildren. “As I was looking at area…
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Marian Gotko Dampier ’57 was recently featured in Houston County Living magazine. After more than 30 years in teaching, Marian continues to inspire others through her piano and voice lessons. She received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with a minor in Voice from Converse. Read the story here… Learn More! Music Education Music…
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Voice teacher Wendy Arms, along with students Lili Campbell ’21, Ariana Holloway ‘22, Ahdi Horton ‘22, Tisha Kosmas ’22 and Shiyi Zhong ’20, had the opportunity to chat with vocalist Caroline Shaw, part of the Grammy Award-winning group Roomful of Teeth. Caroline Shaw is the youngest person to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for Music…
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Under Dr. Susana Lalama’s leadership, Converse served as the host for the Region One Honor Band, where more than 600 high school students rehearsed and performed concerts in Twichell Auditorium. She also served on the panel of adjudicators for the Boiling Springs Festival of Bands. Dr. Lalama, along with Music Education student Alexis Mattison ’19,…
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Dr. Patti Foy and Dr. Susie Lalama are among the first university professors in the United States to be selected as Modern Band Fellows. Modern Band Fellows is a music program associated with ‘Little Kids Rock’ Foundation. This innovative program teaches kids to perform, improvise and compose using the popular styles that they are familiar with  including rock, pop, reggae, hip hop, R &…
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During the 2018 January study-travel trip to Germany, Music History and German Studies students explored cultural, historical and political sites. Dr. Mirko Hall and Dr. Siegwart Reichwald explored politics and music, respectively, with this diverse group of Converse students. Their travels took them to Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden where they discussed composers Johann Sebastian Bach and…
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The 2018 Jo Anne J. Trow Scholarship has been awarded to Jennings Cavin ’20 (Nisbet Honors). Recipients of this highly-competitive scholarship are awarded based upon criteria including maintaining a 3.5-grade point average, Alpha Lambda Delta activities, campus and community service activities, and personal recommendations. Learn More! Music Education at Converse Nisbet Honors Program

Dr. Susana Lalama presented at Miami Arts Day at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. Her presentation was titled Repertoire Selection for the Growing Band Program. Dr. Lalama also presented at the Midwest Clinic, International Band and Orchestra Conference held in Chicago, Illinois. Her topic was Developing Quality Breathing: Incorporating Lung Trainers into Band Rehearsals….
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