Senior Oliver Flood, a financial management major, assists a VITA client.

Twenty-seven Ferrum College accounting students have received training to assist with STEP’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which will be available on campus through April 11. Tax Day is April 15.

VITA, an IRS-sponsored program, provides free tax preparation assistance to those whose annual income is $55,000 or less.  Sessions will be available on the Ferrum College campus in Beckham Hall, rooms 201 and 204, on Wednesdays from 4 to 9 p.m. and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m., with the exception of March 6 and 7 when the students are away for spring break.  To schedule an appointment, call STEP at 540-483-5142.

“Our students have put in a tremendous amount of effort to learn the new tax laws and regulations to properly prepare tax returns for our clients,” explained Sadie Wallace, assistant professor of accounting and VITA program director at Ferrum College. “As a whole, the group has prepared around 200 tax returns this tax season so far, with that number to increase substantially by the time April 15th arrives. This program would not be successful without the countless hours of commitment and dedication the students put in to help serve the Ferrum College community and the surrounding areas.”

Those taking advantage of this volunteer program should bring all tax-related documents, including W-2’s, photo identification, last year’s tax return, and social security cards for themselves and dependents.

Check out this Franklin News-Post article to learn more about the VITA program offered in Franklin County.  Read more about STEP here.

Ferrum, VA, February 25, 2019 — Former Broadway star Brad Bass spent a month working with Ferrum College’s theatre arts students to choreograph upcoming performances of Pippin, the story of a young prince in search of true happiness and fulfillment. Performances will be in Schoolfield Hall’s Sale Theatre on campus, 305 State Route 602, Ferrum, on March 13, 14, and 15 at 7 p.m. and on March 16 at 2 p.m.

Bass is now a musical theatre artist in residence at Averett University and is on faculty at Orbit Arts Academy. Ferrum College theatre arts students and Bass worked every weekend for the past month to choreograph Pippin.

“We are overjoyed to have Brad Bass share his experience with our students,” said Giuseppe Ritorto, assistant professor of dramatic and theatre arts and musical theatre at Ferrum College. “He brings a warmth and joy to this process of directing that can only be found in someone who shares a love of teaching the theatrical skills to the next generation of performers.”

Theatre arts students have gained a new perspective through Bass’s presence on campus. “Outside of rehearsal, students have loved picking his brain about his time on Broadway in Wicked and Memphis,” Ritorto remarked. “Brad has been more than happy to indulge them.”

Brought to life by Roger O. Hirson’s book and set to music with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Pippin is the winner of four 2013 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival, and has captivated audiences throughout the world.

Ticket cost for Pippin is $5 for non-Ferrum College students and senior citizens, and $15 for adults. To reserve tickets, visit here.

Please note: this production occasionally contains strong language and adult situations that may be unsuitable for children.

Click here for a list of upcoming theatre arts performances, and here to read more about the theatre arts program at Ferrum College.

About the photograph: Brad Bass worked with theatre arts students to choreograph Pippin. 

More about Bass: Brad Bass was born and raised on a tobacco farm in Ringgold, Virginia. After high school he moved to New York City, where he trained at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He joined the Chicago production of Wicked and not long after, made his Broadway debut in the production. His other Broadway credits include the original casts of Memphis and Jersey Boys. He was in the feature film Memphis, and sang on the original cast albums of Memphis and Andrew Lippa’s A Little Princess. Bass has performed on Good Morning America, CBS Morning Show, The View, and the Tony Awards. After performing for 14 years, he realized that teaching and writing were his new creative passions. He obtained faculty positions at Averett University and Orbit Arts Academy and received a master’s in creative writing with a focus in libretto from Goddard College.  He is co-writing three musicals: The Collins Boy, The Gathering of Waters, and Learning to Fly. Bass was also commissioned to write the music and lyrics for a new film adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, entitled Gretel + Hansel.

On April 1, alumnus Wilson Paine ’07 will take on his new role as vice president of Institutional Advancement at Ferrum College. Paine is no stranger to the campus; since 2009, he has served on Ferrum College’s Board of Trustees and its Alumni Board of Directors in various roles, including president and vice president.

“I’m honored to be joining President Johns and his leadership team during this exciting time at Ferrum College,” Paine remarked. “As a proud alumnus, I look forward to ‘returning home’ and working with a dedicated and talented team of alumni, faculty, staff, and friends to advance Ferrum’s mission and instill a renewed spirit of collaboration and support throughout the Ferrum community.”

“I am pleased Wilson Paine will be joining our administrative team this spring,” President David Johns said in a statement. “All of us are working to position the College for a new and exciting future; Wilson’s strategic thinking, personal integrity, gracious personality, and above all, his love for Ferrum College will make him an excellent partner as we build the relationships and resources necessary to support our students.”

Paine arrives at the institution after substantial public affairs work, most recently as a social investment officer of workforce development and director of strategic partnerships at Stand Together, a community revitalization non-profit based in Arlington, Va.  He was a 2016 participant in the Sorensen Institute Political Leaders program and served as a research assistant for the General Board of Church and Society for the United Nations. Paine founded the “Service for Heroes Charity Open,” a United States Tennis Association-sponsored tennis tournament, that raised funds for veterans and their families and won the 2013 USTA Military Tennis Award.

Paine graduated summa cum laude from Ferrum College with a degree in history and holds a masters in theological studies from Harvard University. While at Ferrum College, he studied abroad at Imperial College in London, England; at Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China; and at Southern African Wildlife College in Kruger National Park, South Africa. As a student, Paine was also named First Team Academic All-American by ESPN, The Magazine and a National Scholar Athlete by Intercollegiate Tennis Association. He has received the Arthur S. Owen’s Leadership Award; the Don Scalf Award for USA South Conference Student Athlete; and the President’s Cup Award for Best Scholar-Athlete.

“Ferrum College played a transformative role in shaping my own personal, professional, spiritual, and intellectual growth, and paved the road that guided me well beyond my four years as a student,” said Paine, who looks forward to furthering the mission of the institution that gave him so much.

Read more about Paine in The Roanoke Times article here.

Top photo: Ferrum College Collegiates. Bottom photo: Ferrum College concert choir.

As part of a music benefit series, Ferrum College’s concert choir and Collegiates will perform “Benefit Concert and Potluck: Ferrum College Choral Ensembles” at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Roanoke on Friday, February 22 from 7 to 8 p.m., and “Music in the Mountains: Ferrum College Collegiates and Concert Choir” at Phoebe Needles Center in Ferrum on Saturday, February 23, from 7 to 8 p.m. Both concerts are free; however, a donation of $10 is suggested.  A potluck will follow the concert at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church; covered dishes are encouraged.

The donations collected during the concert at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church will support Ferrum Elementary Panther Packs, a local program that sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food.  This is the second consecutive year that Ferrum College’s concert choir and Collegiates have partnered with a local venue to provide revenue for Panther Packs.  Last April, the Institution partnered with Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount to present Michael Ray in concert, which raised $4,810 for the Panther Packs program.

Proceeds from the Phoebe Needles Center concert will support the Center’s summer camps, which offer lodging, dining, recreational facilities, and other services and activities.

Click here to see a schedule of upcoming concert choir and Collegiate’s events.

On Friday, February 22 at 12:15 p.m., Ferrum College provost and soprano Aimé Sposato, tenor Byron Jones, bassist John Moir, and pianist Robert Thieme will perform A Musical Conversation Between Friends in Vaughn Chapel on the Ferrum College campus.  This classical voice recital will incorporate works by Mozart, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Strauss, and is free and open to the community.

Sposato, of Ferrum College, has performed over 24 operatic roles and over 30 oratorios roles, receiving critical acclaim for performances in major concert halls, recital halls, and cathedrals throughout the world, including the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Music Centre in Strathmore, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur Cathedrals in Paris, Basilica di San Marco in Venice, the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican in Rome, St. Stephen’s in Vienna, the National Concert Hall in Budapest, and the Rudolfinum Concert Hall in Prague. Sposato joined the leadership team of Ferrum College as provost in July 2017 and holds a faculty appointment as professor of music, voice.

Jones, of Shenandoah University, has more than two decades experience in opera, concert, and recital in locations such as the Kennedy Center Concert Hall and Millennium Stage. He is a singer and stage director, and has performed with the Washington Opera, Baltimore Opera, Opera Vivente, and Florentine Opera. He carries an affection for French cabaret songs and visits Schroon Lake in New York during the summer months to instruct at the Seagle Music Colony, a top training program for opera. Jones currently serves as associate professor of music (voice) and chair of the voice division at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University.

Moir, of Bluefield College, has enjoyed singing with the Opera Pacific, Pacific Chamber Opera, Santa Barbara Civic Opera, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the San Diego Master Chorale.  A bit of a comic, he was also a founding member of the San Diego Gilbert and Sullivan Company, which is now the San Diego Comic Opera.  His resume includes performances with the Akron Opera, Eastman Chorale, the Colgate University Chorale, and the San Diego Civic Light Opera.  He has experience as a performer, singer, conductor, in choir and artistic direction, and now serves as an assistant professor of music and conductor of Bluefield College’s vocal ensembles.

Thieme, retired from West Virginia University, served as the director of the University’s opera theatre, head of accompanying, and coordinator of vocal studies from 1996-2013. He also served as co-artistic director of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. His experience includes conducting and staging opera, operetta, and musical theater productions. Thieme has worked with a number of opera companies, most recently conducting a production of Pagliacci for the Opera Fundación de Panama.

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More about Dr. Aimé Sposato: Prior to joining the Ferrum community, Dr. Aimé Sposato served as the associate dean for undergraduate studies and professor of voice at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Va. During her 24-year tenure at Shenandoah University, Sposato maintained an active performing career while training young singers in the studio and classroom and was recognized by her peers. She was awarded the Exemplary Teacher of the Year Award.

Sposato received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh; a Master of Music degree from Duquesne University, where she received a graduate fellowship in opera; and served as a graduate teaching fellow in opera throughout her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree at West Virginia University. Specializing in music of the 17th and 18th centuries, Dr. Sposato has performed over 24 operatic roles and over 30 oratorios roles in the U.S. and throughout Europe. She refined the art of Baroque Ornamentation for the voice at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Sposato has received critical acclaim for performances in major concert halls, recital halls, and cathedrals throughout the world, including the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Music Centre in Strathmore, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur Cathedrals in Paris, Basilica di San Marco in Venice, the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican in Rome, St. Stephen’s in Vienna, the National Concert Hall in Budapest, and the Rudolfinum Concert Hall in Prague. For some diversion, she was often heard singing the national anthem for the Pirates, Penguins, and NASCAR.

More about Dr. Byron Jones: For more than twenty years, Dr. Byron Jones has performed regularly for Washington, D.C. audiences in opera, concert, recital, and cabaret settings, to include the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Opera House, and Millennium Stage, Lisner Auditorium, and the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He has recorded vintage songs, some from early aviation days, which are on display at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute.

Jones has performed Jacques Brel’s songs to critical acclaim and has received praise for tone warmth, expression, and clarity of diction. He has also directed “Riders to the Sea”; “Gianni Schicchi”; “HMS Pinafore”; “Amahl and the Night Visitors”; “Il matrimonio segreto”; “The Old Maid and the Thief/The Secret of Suzanne”; “Scene and Aria, or Mozart’s Impresario, reimagined”; and “Side by Side by Sondheim.”

A specialist of the French language, Jones has given masterclasses at Carnegie-Mellon University, The Hartt School, and Boston Conservatory. He is currently associate professor of music (voice) and chair of the voice division at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University. During the summer, he joins the voice faculty at Seagle Music Colony at Schroon Lake in New York, where he works with young singers on artistry and vocal technique. Jones holds degrees in French Language and Literature, and in Vocal Performance, from the Universities of North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Maryland, and from Shenandoah University.

More about Dr. John Moir: Starting off as a chorister with the San Diego Opera, Dr. John Moir has enjoyed a career as a teacher, performer, singer, and conductor with more than two decades of experience in music. He has worked alongside George London, Joan Sutherland, Sherrill Milnes, Richard Leech, Aprile Millo, Beverly Sills, Richard Bonynge, Eduardo Müller, and Theo Alcantara.

Moir’s experience includes performances with Opera Pacific; Pacific Chamber Opera; Santa Barbara Civic Opera; the Roger Wagner Chorale; the San Diego Master Chorale; the San Diego Civic Light Opera; Akron Opera; Eastman Chorale; and the Colgate University Chorale, where he sang solos in Mendelssohn’s “Elijah.” He was a founding member of the San Diego Gilbert and Sullivan Company, now known as the San Diego Comic Opera. Moir also enjoyed time as artistic director with a semi-professional chorus called CORO!, which performed with Minnesota Sinfonia, Dakota Valley Symphony, and the MacPhail Center for the Arts’ Chorus “Sonomento.” Moir now serves as assistant professor of music and conductor of Bluefield College’s vocal ensembles. 

More about Mr. Robert Thieme: Robert Thieme retired from West Virginia University as Professor Emeritus after teaching for 29 years. He served as the director of the WVU Opera Theatre, head of accompanying, and coordinator of vocal studies from 1996-2013. Thieme has served as coach and accompanist for many singers and instrumentalists throughout the United States and Europe. His experience also includes conducting and staging opera, operetta and musical theater productions. He has taught classes in vocal repertoire and vocal diction. In 2008 he retired as co-artistic director of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria after serving on the faculty for 21 years.  Thieme was a frequent keyboardist with the Wheeling Symphony and accompanied all operatic productions of the West Virginia Symphony. He has worked with a number of opera companies and most recently conducted a production of “Pagliacci” for the Opera Fundación de Panama.

Gospel Fest 2019 will take place on Saturday, February 9 at 5 p.m. in Vaughn Chapel on the Ferrum College campus.  This concert is open to the community and admission is free.

The event is headlined with fresh gospel music from Grammy Award contemporary gospel and R&B recording artist Rudy Currence, and emcee Chris “Minster P” Pritchett, featuring the talents of Ferrum College’s very own Fresh Wind Gospel Choir (pictured); the United Voices of God and East New Hope Church dance team, both of Danville, VA; and Longwood University’s Brothers and Sisters in Christ (B.A.S.I.C.) Gospel Choir.

Read more about Ferrum College’s Office of Spiritual Life here.

The Service for Grateful Memory for Hank Norton will be held in Vaughn Chapel on the Ferrum College campus at 2 PM on Saturday, February 2, 2019. The memorial service may be watched live online here. The service will then be archived and may be viewed at a later date by following this link and choosing the “On Demand” tab.

January 17, 2019: On Wednesday, January 16, Ferrum College bid farewell to a Panther legend. Former football coach and director of athletics Hank Norton passed away at the age of 91.

“Ferrum College mourns the passing of Coach Norton, whose influence on our community and on generations of young athletes was monumental,” said Ferrum College President David Johns. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have watched Panther football this past season with Hank and to hear his many stories of games and players through the years. We send our heartfelt condolences to Coach Norton’s family.”

Ferrum Junior College President, Dr. Ralph Arthur, hired Wilbert Henry Norton, Jr. in the spring of 1960 as the College’s fourth head football coach. Within his first few seasons at the helm of the program, Norton transformed Ferrum into one of the top teams in the country. The Panthers joined the National Junior College Athletic Association in 1961, and Norton took the team to the 1965 and 1966 Shrine Bowl. Norton’s Panthers won NJCAA national titles in 1968, 1974, and 1977.

Norton led Ferrum College into NCAA Division III athletics by the 1985-86 school year and became a member of the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which is now the USA South. Panther football was immediately successful, with post-season playoff runs in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990. Under Norton’s direction, the team also won NCAA South Region titles in 1988 and 1989.

Ferrum College enjoyed Norton’s strengths as head football coach for 34 seasons until his retirement in 1993. More than 50 of his former players went on to play professional football, including National Football League All-Pro running back Chris Warren. Billy Wagner and Eric Owens, both baseball players at the College during Norton’s coaching days, also went on to play major league baseball. In all, Norton coached 46 All-Americans while at Ferrum College. His teams won 15 NJCAA Region X titles and six Coastal Conference crowns.

During his career, Norton was named Coach of the Year three times by the NJCAA in 1965, 1968, and 1974. In 1979, Norton’s name appeared on the Virginia Sports Wall of Fame. He is also a member of the Ferrum College Alumni Sports Hall of Fame, the University of Lynchburg Sports Hall of Fame, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Junior College Athletic Association Football Hall of Fame.

Norton is a household name at Ferrum College and in the Ferrum area. The section of Virginia State Route 40 that stretches from Rocky Mount to the Ferrum, approximately 10 miles, is named in his honor. Norton was a dedicated leader, a fly-fisherman, and a genuinely caring coach who was tough but believed in his athletes.

“Coach Norton meant so much to so many people,” explained Ferrum College’s Director of Athletics Abe Naff, who was hired by Norton in 1981 as the assistant football and baseball coach. “It’s hard to put into words the impact Coach Norton has had on Ferrum College, the Panther athletic program, and Franklin County, Virginia.”

Norton attended Marshall University and Concord College.  He earned his bachelor’s degree from Lynchburg College in 1951 and then served in the Army as a physical recondition instructor in medical field school, where he also played on the Army Black Knights football team from 1951-52.  Prior to his arrival at Ferrum College, Norton served as football, basketball, and track coach at Powhatan High School from 1954-59, where he also taught history and science. Norton obtained his master’s degree in education from the University of Virginia in 1956.

Norton is survived by his three adult children, Patty and her husband David Gunter, Will and his wife Jodie, Jack and his wife Kristi, 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

A memorial service will be held for Norton at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 2, in Vaughn Chapel on the Ferrum College campus in Ferrum, Va.

Curator Angela Jennings with “Sankofa African American Museum on Wheels” collections

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Ferrum College will host the “Sankofa African American Museum on Wheels” on January 21 at 11 a.m. in the Panther’s Den on campus.  An open forum discussion will begin at 12:15 p.m. with museum curator Angela Jennings.  The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Sankofa is a Ghanaian term, which means to “use the wisdom of the past to build the future.” Jennings set out to do just that in 1995 with the creation of the “Sankofa African American Museum on Wheels,” which strives to educate viewers about African Americans’ heritage, pain, and pride.  Jennings takes viewers on a journey through African American history by using a collection of art and historical artifacts gathered from the United States, Virgin Islands, West Africa, and Europe.  The collections span from 1860 to present day and include authentic whips, chains, and receipts of purchase during the slavery era.  Viewers will travel through slavery; emancipation; the creation of the Negro Baseball League; African Americans’ inventions, literary works, and social movements; and the lives of Dr. King and Barack Obama, among others.

Jennings explained the museum’s mission: “Those are the very same shackles used during slavery. Teach them the struggle. Show them the struggle. Learn the contributions that blacks have made to this society.”

Read more about the “Sankofa African American Museum on Wheels” here.

Darrian Marshall, a junior majoring in musical theatre, will display his own production, The Empowerment Concert, on January 19 in Schoolfield Hall’s Sale Theatre, on the Ferrum College campus.  The event will begin at 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public.  Tickets are not necessary. Please note that this performance contains content that is not suitable for children.

Darrian Marshall ’20

Hailing from Gloucester, VA, Marshall’s passion for theatre arts began when he performed in The Wiz, an African American remake of The Wizard of Oz, at the tender age of 13.  Since his freshman year at Ferrum College, Marshall has participated in every theatre arts production on campus.  His inspiration for The Empowerment Concert originated from the Black Power Movement along with pop culture influences.

Marshall wishes to express sincere appreciation to the Concert’s production team and dancers, to include: dance captains Mia Brower; Autumn Murray-Burns; and Tamiah Palmer; dancers Laura Aylor; Jenise Venible; Ellie Eckrote; and Jay Moy; executive producer Precious Leonard; director of sound Marie Mance; concert host Jasmine Williams; and vocalists Lacey Matthews and Lechelle Smith.

While at Ferrum College, Marshall intends to audition for professional theatre companies in hope of landing a career in theatre after graduation in May 2020. Marshall also plans to perform for Universal Orlando Entertainment in Florida.  “No matter where I’m at or where I’m going, I will always perform at 100 percent from my heart, while inspiring and empowering the hearts all around me,” said Marshall.

Find more details about Marshall’s upcoming performance  here.

Congratulations to Tamiah Palmer, who has been accepted to be a Peace Corps volunteer. Tamiah will be heading to Guyana after graduation, where she will spend three months training for her job before beginning her two years of service working on environmental conservation in this ecologically diverse nation.

Ferrum College junior Brian Mann from Pearisburg, VA, has been named to both the 2018 American Football Coaches Association Division III All-American Team, and the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-American NCAA Division III Football Team.  He is the College’s first ever student-athlete to earn academic and athletic All-American recognition.

Mann, who is majoring in business administration and financial management, was named to the All-Conference first team by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference this season, and is one of only two ODAC players named to the 2018 AFCA All-American team.  Mann earned a place on the Academic All-District V first team in November, which made him eligible for Academic All-American.  He ranks as Ferrum College’s seventh Academic All-American and the second in Panther football.  Currently, Mann holds 14 school records, received an ODAC nod in 2018, and was USA South Offensive Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017.

Read more about Brian Mann’s athletic and academic achievements here and here.