LC Academy of Music

Dr. Richard Thomas is Professor of Music at Presbyterian College, where he teaches cello, bass, chamber music, and directs the Presbyterian College Chamber Orchestra. He is also Adjunct Cello Instructor at the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University, Adjunct Cello Instructor at Lander University, and Cello Instructor at the Laurens County Academy of Music.

Thomas is a former faculty member of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, USC-Aiken, the Universidad del Cauca and Universidad del Valle in Colombia, South America; the Conservatorio Nacional of the Dominican Republic); and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, and the Wilmington Academy of Music. From 1999-2008 he was String Department Head at Camp Encore/Coda in Sweden, Maine.

Thomas held full-time positions in the cello sections of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo, and the Cali Philharmonic in Cali, Colombia. He was Principal Cello of the Wilmington Symphony and Tallis Chamber Orchestra in North Carolina, the Irving Symphony and Garland Symphony in Texas, and the Encore-Coda Chamber Orchestra in Maine. Thomas was Interim Assistant Principal of the South Carolina Philharmonic, Assistant Principal of the East Texas Symphony, and the Dallas Lyric Opera Orchestra.

Dr. Thomas has lectured, taught, and performed in China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Japan, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Venezuela and throughout the United States. He conducted the 2018 Region 1, 11-12 Orchestra at Chesnee High School and the 2020 Region 3, 11-12 Orchestra, at the International School of the Arts at Irmo High School in Irmo, South Carolina.

Thomas studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, DePauw University, Temple University, the University of North Texas and received a Doctor of Music Arts degree from the University of South Carolina.  His cello teachers include Cassel Grubb, Alan Harris, Robert Jesselson, Hirofumi Kano, Robert Newkirk, and Adolfo Odnoposoff.

Email: rthomas@presby.edu

From Laurens, SC, Hannah Powell holds both a BM (2017) and MM (2019) in Piano Performance from Converse College, where she studied with Dr. Douglas Weeks, graduating with Distinction in Performance. Hannah has studied at the Brevard Music Center during the summers of 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019. In November of 2015, Hannah was the winner of the South Carolina Music Teachers Association Young Artist Piano Competition. Hannah was named the 2016 Presser Scholar in recognition of outstanding achievement as a music major at Converse College. Since 2017, Hannah has been pianist/organist at Union Presbyterian Church in Union, South Carolina. In addition to teaching at the LCAM, Hannah teaches at Music & Arts in Spartanburg. Hannah performs in solo piano recitals, church services, weddings, collaborates with other musicians in chamber performances, and has also accompanied choirs and played in bands and orchestras. In her spare time, Hannah enjoys road cycling, bike touring, strong coffee, and reading.

Teaching Philosophy:

I strive to help my students achieve their musical goals by not only providing them a firm foundation in piano technique, music theory, and problem-solving skills, but also encouraging creative thinking to get to the magic behind the music, tapping into the meaning behind the music. I seek to expand my students’ expressive range and inspire them in a pursuit of the lifelong joy of music making

ASHLEY HORVAT – we are delighted that Ashely Horvat has joined the string faculty at Presbyterian College. She performed the entire Vivaldi Four Seasons with the PC Chamber Orchestra in 2020. Ashley is Associate Concertmaster and Personnel Manager of the South Carolina Philharmonic in Columbia. She holds a Masters degree in Violin Performance from the University of Akron, a Bachelors degree in Violin Performance from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts in high school. Ashely has won many awards including the Young Artists Competition in South Carolina, The Upton Foundation Scholarship, a four-year scholarship program at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and was the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs state winner for 2000 and 2001. She was a teaching assistant at both University of Akron and North Carolina School of the Arts and taught at Columbia College and the Palmetto Center for the Arts. Presently, she also maintains an exclusive private studio at her home. Ashely is an active solo and chamber musician and gives frequent recitals, masterclasses, and guest appearances.

Michael Matthews is the Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet and Saxophone at Presbyterian College. He has performed in six countries and seventeen states, and is a proud graduate of University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music and the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Michael was an inaugural member of the Athens Hip-Hop Harmonic while living in Athens, GA, where he also gave the world premiere of Summer; a work involving improvisation and electronics, by Ayako Pederson-Takeda in 2022. In Rochester, NY, Michael performed in the Eastman Saxophone Project and was the baritone saxophonist of Scio Quartet, Bronze Medalists in the Senior Winds Division at the 47th Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2020, and winners of the 2019 MTNA National Young Artist Chamber Competition. Michael won the 2019 Nico Toscano Concerto Competition held by Cordancia Chamber Orchestra (Rochester, NY). Now living in Greer, SC, Michael is an active member of the Upstate Symphonic Winds and offers private lessons to the Upstate community.

BS, University of Florida
MA, University of Florida

Gary Hipp teaches the Great Highland Bagpipes at Presbyterian College.  He serves as Pipe Major for the Presbyterian College Pipes and Drums, an ensemble which welcomes musicians from the college and the local community.  In addition, he offers private lessons for new and experienced pipers.  These lessons are available to all PC students as well as members of the local community through the pre-college program.

He is a former member of the Palmetto Pipes and Drums of Columbia, SC, and still teaches for that group.  He pipes solo for weddings, funerals, church services and other events throughout South Carolina.

His training includes annual classes at the North American Academy of Piping with internationally acclaimed pipers such as: Sandy Jones, Colin MacLellan, Ed Neigh, Greg Abbott, Bill Caudill and others.

Email: ghipp@presby.edu

Lucie Svatonova-Hughes, mezzosoprano, is a native of Prague, Czech Republic, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Academy of Performing Arts.  Ms. Svatonova has been a soloist with the St. James Cathedral Choir and Orchestra and has frequently performed with the Prague Radio Chorus, Vox Pragae, and Opera Mozart throughout Europe.  She came to the U.S. in 1996 and in 1999 received a Master of Music degree from Converse College.  Ms. Svatonova has been a member of Herring Chamber Ensemble and Heritage Chamber Singers in Greenville, SC, and a soloist with The Greenville Symphony and Chorale, Newberry Opera, Greater Spartanburg Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony and Chorus, Hendersonville Chorale, Columbia Choral Society, Augusta Choral Society, Foothills Philharmonic, GLOW Lyric Opera and Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium.  She also frequently performs in operatic, sacred, and art song recitals.  Ms. Svatonova enjoys working with aspiring young artists and has extensive teaching experience, having worked as an instructor at Erskine College, University of South Carolina Upstate, Dorman High School, Converse Pre-College, Spartanburg Community College, and Le Chateau de Danse.  She has been involved with the highly acclaimed Arts Integration Program through the Metropolitan Arts Council in Greenville and also acts as a Music Director at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville, SC.  Ms. Svatonova joined the faculty at Presbyterian College in 2007.

Email: lasvatono@presby.edu

Dr. Jackson Roberson is a guitarist based in Columbia, South Carolina. A competition prizewinner, Jackson has performed for audiences throughout the Southern and Midwestern United States. His performances have been broadcasted on PBS television in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas and on PBS radio in Nebraska and Iowa.

As an instructor, Dr. Roberson has worked with hundreds of guitar students of all ages. He previously taught Applied Guitar, Guitar Ensemble, and Basic Guitar as a Graduate Assistant at the University of South Carolina and Music Theory as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Memphis.

While Jackson specializes in classical guitar, his musical interests span a wide range of styles and genres. Dr. Roberson’s dissertation, Appalachian Dreams: Traditional Folk Songs in Concert Literature for Classical Guitar, explores how composers have incorporated folk music practices into works for solo classical guitar with special emphasis on the use of Appalachian folk music in John Duarte’s Appalachian Dreams.

Jackson holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Music from the University of Memphis, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Nebraska Omaha, all in Guitar Performance. His primary teachers were Christopher Berg, Lily Afshar, and Hadley Heavin. Dr. Roberson has also studied in masterclasses with guitarists such as Jeremy Jouve, Bill Kanengiser, Jonathan Leathwood, Isaac Bustos, and many others.