Fayetteville-raised writer, musician to appear with symphony. There is a book-signing, too

They say authors should write what they know. Brendan Slocumb proves the adage, and how.

Slocumb, a writer and musician who was raised in Fayetteville, penned the best-selling 2022 thriller, “The Violin Conspiracy,” published by Penguin Random House, and last year released his second novel, “Symphony of Secrets.”

While the plotlines differ, both books take their action from the world of classical music. “Violin Conspiracy” features a main character who is a violinist, like Slocumb, and “Symphony of Secrets” features a main character who is a music educator, like Slocumb — who has taught music students in private lessons and public schools.

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Slocumb, who lives in Virginia in the D.C. metro area, will return to Fayetteville for a performance by the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra will perform A Strings Serenade, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. The church is located at 400 Campbell Ave in the Old Wilmington Road area.

Slocumb was originally scheduled to perform on violin but suffered a hand injury. He will instead provide commentary on stage along with Maestro Stefan Sanders. Before the performance, Slocumb is scheduled to sign copies of his books from 4 to 6 p.m. at City Center Gallery & Books at 112 Hay St. downtown.

“The FSO team got connected with Brendan last year after he did a book event in town,” says Meghan Woolbright, the symphony's marketing director. “Also, one of our musicians, Sarah Busman, spoke very highly of Brendan, so FSO leadership decided to reach out to him to plan a collaboration.”

The program will include Vivaldi’s “Concerto for 4 Violins” and Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings.” “Concerto for 4 Violins” will feature FSO Concertmaster Fabián López; Associate Concertmaster Megan Kenny; Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra Concertmaster Halle Adams; and FSO violinist Holland Phillips, who is filling in for Slocumb.

Several selections will feature works by composers of color including Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery and Daniel Bernard Roumain.

A tough setback

The characters and setting are not the only instances of Slocumb writing what he knew.

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“The Violin Conspiracy” is about the mystery behind the theft of a $10 million Stradivarius violin and echoes a difficult moment in Slocumb’s life, where his own violin was stolen in a break-in.

Diane Parfitt, owner of City Center, where Slocumb will sign books, said that the personal story was striking to her: “That little seed was in his head,” she says.

Slocumb told The Los Angeles Times that his family had returned from a trip to an amusement park and found their home had been ransacked. He was a high school senior at the time.

The Times wrote: “Slocumb, who had been playing violin since he was 9, went immediately to the hiding spot under his bed.”

He looked.

“My instrument was gone,” he told the newspaper. “I looked again. It was gone. I looked for a third time and it wasn’t there.’”

Music education, COVID-19 and writing novels

The setback is one he will never forget but proved to be a bump on the road. Slocumb went on to graduate from UNC-Greensboro with a music education degree with concentrations in violin and viola. For 20 years, he has taught students in general music, orchestra and guitar ensembles, and many of his students earn places in district and regional orchestras, according to the bio at his website. In 2005, he was chosen Teacher of the Year at the high school where he taught and is listed in the Who's Who of American teachers, the bio states.

Slocumb began work in earnest on his fiction writing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he found himself stuck at home a lot, he told the online magazine, the Literary Hub, in a February 2022 interview.

“The pandemic actually allowed me the time to write regularly,” he said. “Two thousand to 2,500 words a day was easy to schedule when you’re stuck in the house all day.”

He is already at work on a third novel.

Music saved him

Slocumb faced many challenges as a young Black boy in North Carolina seeking to play the violin and classical music, and said that he was “discouraged in every way imaginable from pretty much everyone,” according to the magazine interview.

He credited his grandmother, Nora, for her guidance and said music saved his life, thanking mentors Susan Ellington, Nancy Pearce, Robbie Dobson and Dr. Rachel Vetter Huang.

On his website, Slocumb says he “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.”

Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville raised writer, musician returns for concert, book-signing