Newberry College Department of Music

09/14/2026

Dear Directors - we would like to update our mailing lists in order to make sure you receive information about our upcoming concerts, audition days, masterclasses, and clinics. Please click on the links below to register your updated information or to share information about Newberry College and our music department with your students.
Registration Form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/q1jTLQyQF0
Newberry College Music: https://www.newberry.edu/prospective-music-students

09/08/2026

Homeschool families - we still have some openings in our Homeschool Music Program if you would like to register. Please contact Melissa Sheppard at melissa.sheppard@ newberry.edu for more information. Ages 5 & up are welcome!! Our meeting dates are as follows: 9/11, 9/18, 9/25, 10/2, 10/13, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6. Parents are allowed to sit in the lobby of the AMC or we welcome you to quietly sit in the learning space with their children.

09/05/2026

High Schoolers...Please join us for Music Major for a Day on Tuesday, October 13. Scan the QR code below for more information and to register for the event. We look forward to seeing you there!

09/04/2026

You're Next Big Step Starts Here at Newberry College!!!!
College music auditions are open and we want to hear what you have to share as a prospective Newberrian.

09/04/2026

Congrats to Newberry Alum Roqúe Clendinen III, on earning a spot playing violin with the Gwinnett Symphony in Lawrenceville, Georgia! Be sure to check them out if you're in the area on September 20 for their concert at the Lawrenceville Arts Center at 4pm!

09/03/2026

If you are interested in Newberry College we would love to have you come to one of our audition days this year. General auditions are for everyone and event specific auditions are for those students who are registered to attend (Music Major for a Day, Region Choir, Honor Band Clinic, and Honor Orchestra). We would be happy to speak with you about admissions, campus events, our music program, and any other questions you have! Please visit https://www.newberry.edu/ for more information, or you may click below to apply.

08/29/2026

Please join us for the Esther Jennings Baughman Memorial Concert Series featuring:

Alison Branham, soprano
Katherine Branham, flute
Wanda Neese, piano

Sunday, August 30 at 4:00 PM
First United Methodist Church
109 W. College Street
Winnsboro, SC

This event is free and open to the public.

08/24/2026

Dr. Sarah Masterson will present a faculty piano recital on Wednesday, August 26th at 7PM in the Alumni Music Center West Memorial Recital Hall. She will perform pieces by Gershwin, Harris, Price, Bonds, and Chee.
This event is free and open to the public.

08/19/2026

Congratulations to alumni Timothy Lawson (‘12) for having his band selected to perform at the SCMEA conference!

Congrats! You have been selected by audition to perform as a featured ensemble for the SC Music Educators Association’s 2027 conference in Columbia, SC. This is an incredible accomplishment and I look forward to sharing this momentous experience with each of you!

-Mr. Lawson

08/14/2026

Newberry College Department of Music welcomes our new instructor of flute, Dr. Ziqing Guan.

Dr. Ziqing Guan is currently an Adjunct Flute Instructor at Newberry College and a Wm. S. Haynes Flute Young Artist. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree from the University of South Carolina in 2023.
With a vibrant and multifaceted musical presence, Dr. Guan performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral flutist. She has been invited to give guest recitals at East Tennessee State University and Georgia College & State University, and has performed at major festivals and events, including the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention and the Musicartissimo Flute Master Class and Recital in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. In South Carolina, she has appeared with orchestras such as the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra, Aiken Symphony Orchestra, Aiken Civic Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic and Rock Hill Symphony. Since 2024, she has also served as a Flute Teaching Fellow at the Interlochen Arts Camp. Her primary teachers include Dr. Jennifer Parker-Harley, Dr. Adah Jones, and Professor Qi Yan.

In addition to her musical endeavors, Dr. Guan is a certified personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise (since 2021). Her doctoral research, Injury Prevention Exercise Guidelines for Flutists, integrates her passions for music and fitness. This work highlights the role of strength training in preventing performance-related injuries and presents structured routines that combine stretching, conditioning, and injury-prevention strategies tailored for flutists, particularly those dealing with or aiming to prevent PRMDs (playing-related musculoskeletal disorders).

Dr. Guan has shared her wellness expertise through workshops and presentations at events such as the NFA Online Event Series, South Carolina Flute Society Festival, Haynes Health & Wellness Summit, and the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention. In 2023, she founded the Musician Wellness Studio, a platform dedicated to promoting healthy, balanced practice habits and supporting the physical and mental well-being of musicians.