RROB Author Lecture

Join us at the Richardson Reads One Book Author Lecture Tuesday, September 24th at 7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church Richardson. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. RROB is privileged to welcome Brendan Slocumb, author of "Symphony of Secrets" to our community to discuss his novel. Tickets are free and online only at bit.ly/RROBLecture24 beginning September 10th at 9 am and are available on a first-come, first-served basis, until they are gone. Because this event is expected to fill to capacity, please reserve tickets only for those who you know can attend so everyone in the community who wishes to take part can do so. Tickets are limited to 2 per order and per email address.

RROB Author Luncheon

Luncheon ticket sales are now open at bit.ly/RROBLunch24! The deadline to buy luncheon tickets is Sunday, September 15th; however, last year's tickets sold out, so we encourage you to purchase your tickets early!

Check here, www.Facebook.com/Richardson Library, or www.Facebook.com/RROBTX for updates.

Brendan Slocumb

Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb 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. For the past two decades, 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; he 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. His violin opened the door to opportunity, and he ran through it. Since then, Brendan has performed with the Washington Metropolitan Symphony, the McLean Symphony, the Prince George's Philharmonic, and the Alexandria Symphony. He has served as the concertmaster for the NOVA-Annandale Symphony Orchestra and regularly performs chamber music with members of the Alexandria Chamber Music Society. He maintains private music studio teaching lessons to students on violin, guitar and piano. Brendan believes that everyone can learn to appreciate and love music, and that it can be a new way of communicating, building bonds, and connecting with people who may look, sound, or speak differently.

In 2022, Brendan published his first novel, THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY (Anchor Books), a GMA Book Club Pick, the riveting story of a young Black musician who discovers that his old family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius: when it’s stolen on the eve of the world’s most prestigious classical music competition, he risks everything to get it back. In 2023, Brendan published his second novel, SYMPHONY OF SECRETS (Anchor Books), about a music historian who discovers that the world's greatest composer may have stolen the music from a neurodivergent Black woman — and the powers-that-be will do anything to silence the historian. Brendan is now at work on his third novel, to be published in early 2025.

from the author's website