Georgia Southern University Music Professor Michael Braz to Hold Farewell Performance

May 4, 2011

Retiring Georgia Southern University music professor Michael Braz, Ph.D. will give a farewell performance to benefit music scholarships on Sunday, May 15, 2011.

Braz plans to join the Peace Corps after his retirement from Georgia Southern University this month. He will be assigned to Armenia where he will teach English as a second language. The concert is not only a chance to see Braz take the stage one last time before he begins his two-year commitment with the Peace Corps, but it is also the chance for friends, colleagues, former students, and music lovers to ensure Braz’s legacy continues. Proceeds from the concert will be used to endow a Michael Braz Music Scholarship Fund.

The concert will be held in the Carol A. Carter Recital Hall of the University’s Foy Building at 4 p.m.  Tickets are $30 and a reception will follow the performance. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the University’s Music Department at 912-478-5396.

Braz has been a faculty member at Georgia Southern University for 24 years. Throughout his career, Braz has collaborated with numerous orchestras, music festivals and ensembles ranging from chamber music to jazz and rock around the world, and is also an accomplished composer.

In his many years as a music educator, Braz has served as associate director of the Miami Choral Society, the conductor/musical director of the Boy Singers of Maine, and the founder/director of Tallahassee’s Capital Children’s Chorus and the Statesboro Youth Chorale. He has held several leadership positions in state and national music associations and has also served as the president of the Statesboro Arts Council.

Braz is the recipient of several awards including the University’s President’s Medal, the Award for Excellence in Service, the Ruffin Cup faculty award from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Humanitarian of the Year from the Statesboro Herald.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers 115 degree programs serving nearly 20,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. In 2011, the University was named the fourth most popular university in the country by U.S. News & World Report and is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars.  Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.