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Concert: Music Society Features Acclaimed Soloists
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On Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m. the Moore County Music Society will present a program at Community Congregational Church in Southern Pines.
Featured soloists will be Jennifer Thomas, soprano, and Paul Long, organist. Juanita Smoot is piano accompanist for these selections, and Kim Clark will join them on French horn for the Schubert.
After receiving two degrees from the Juilliard School at Lincoln Center, Long became organist at the Community Congregational Church, a position he held for 22 years. Currently he is director of music ministries and organist at Southern Pines United Methodist Church. He is a highly regarded recitalist who has appeared in concerts throughout North Carolina, New York and Virginia, performing on organ, piano, and harpsichord.
In this area, he has served as accompanist with the Moore County Choral Society, and as guest piano soloist at the Sandhills Community College Chamber Music Festival, playing one of the three pianos in Mozart’s Concerto No. 7.
While working in broadcasting at WIOZ-FM in Southern Pines, Long produced and hosted two classical radio shows on Sunday afternoons with an audience of thousands. In 1998 he was asked to compose and perform the incidental music for the Sandhills Little Theater’s season opener, “The Lion in Winter,” to great acclaim.
On the 178 digital rank Allen organ at Community Congregational Church, he made two recordings, “Paul Long in Recital,” and “Traditions: The Music of Christmas,” which are available from Amazon.com.
Thomas received a bachelor’s degree in music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a Masters of Music from New England Conservatory. In addition, she is an accomplished pianist who has done extensive accompanying and chamber music.
Smoot is Music Director/Organist at the Congregational Church in Pinehurst and the Music Specialist at the Episcopal Day School in Southern Pines. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in music from Belmont College in Nashville, Tenn. she began her professional career as an accompanist, recitalist and teacher at Baptist Seminary in Rio de Janeiro through the Missionary Journeyman program.
She returned stateside to continue studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. where she earned her master’s degree in church music/organ pedagogy. She has also taught privately and in colleges and has developed her own preschool music program that served as a basis for a published article in Worship Arts.
Clark is a member of Moore Brass and the Haverson Wind Quintet. She received her bachelor’s degrees in both music education and music therapy from East Carolina University.
After graduation, she taught middle school and high school band in Montgomery County.
Clark has performed as soloist and in ensemble in many area churches and for other special events. She enjoys singing in the Bethesda Presbyterian Church Choir and the Bethesda Ensemble, and a capella vocal group which will be performing for the Music Society’s May 6 program. For further information call 295-6475.