Program Description
Event Details
An Evening with Brendan Slocumb
This event is free and open to the public, made possible by the Friends of the Bay County Library System.
Author Brendan Slocumb will be joining us for an in-person author talk, discussion, and Q & A session on October 1st, 2024 at Garber High School auditorium (to be confirmed). Please note the change from our normal location.
About THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY
A riveting tale about a Black classical musician whose family heirloom violin is stolen on the eve of
the most prestigious classical music competition in the world...
Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his
dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the
fact that he can’t afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when
he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather’s fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his
star begins to rise. Then with the international Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—
fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. Ray is determined to get it back. But now his family
and the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray’s great-grandfather are each claiming that the
violin belongs to them. With the odds stacked against him and the pressure mounting, will Ray ever see
his beloved violin again?
More about Brendan Slocumb:
Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was born in Yuba City, California and was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in music education, concentrations on Violin and Viola. While at UNCG, Brendan was the concertmaster for the University Symphony orchestra and served as the principal violist. He performed with numerous small chamber ensembles, including flute and clarinet choirs, and in the BESK string quartet.
For the past twenty-three years, he has been a public and private school music educator from kindergarten through twelfth grade, teaching general music, orchestra and guitar ensembles. His students were often chosen for district and regional orchestras. In 2005, Brendan was named Teacher of the Year for Robert E. Lee High School; has been named to Who’s Who of American teachers, and is a Nobel Teacher of distinction. Brendan also serves as an educational consultant for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Music has always played a major part of Brendan’s life. He believes that it’s a life-saving force, and a gift we should always offer our children. When he was nine, he started playing violin through a public school music program. It actually saved his life. Friends he grew up with are today sitting in jail; when they were out running the streets, he was in rehearsals. When they were breaking into people’s houses, he was practicing Dvorak and Mozart. His violin opened the door to opportunity, and he ran through it.
Through music, Brendan developed a work ethic that he now tries to instill in his students so that they too can experience the joys of what music can do for us all. Each student is unique. No two kids learn the same way. Not everyone will go on to become world famous musicians, but everyone can learn to appreciate and love music, and to find new ways of communicating. Meeting each student where he or she is, and taking them farther than they thought possible, is what Brendan has always strived to do.