The Department of Music at Southwestern Adventist University is proud to announce the hiring of Dr. Devon Howard as the Director of Keyboard & Theory Studies. Howard brings with him extensive experience in the music arts. He began piano and organ studies at the ages of 8 and 13 respectively, and has been sharing his gift for music ever since.

Howard earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organ Performance at Southern Adventist University before moving to The Netherlands on a Fulbright Scholarship studying organ performance and improvisation with Aart Bergwerff and Sietze de Vries. In 2012, he completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree under Dr. Kimberly Marshall at Arizona State University. He comes to Southwestern from the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ohio where he has been serving as the Director of Music & the Arts. 

Jonathan E. L. Wall, chair of the Department of Music said, “The committee was impressed with the quality of the applicants and is very excited that Dr. Howard has accepted the invitation to join our faculty. He brings a wealth of experience and creative vision that will provide our students with an elite level of music education, professional experience and performance opportunities.” 

Howard has visited the University on several occasions, performing on campus and with Southwestern’s Music Festival at the Meyerson Symphony Center as a guest soloist. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with the outstanding faculty and administration at Southwestern Adventist University as we continue to build on the legacy of music at the school,” says Howard. “It’s exciting to join a department that is committed to not only recruiting top quality students, but also to providing them with practical skills and an academic foundation which sets them up for rewarding careers as professional musicians.”

For more information about the Department of Music at Southwestern Adventist University, please feel free to contact Jonathan E. L. Wall, jwall@swau.edu.

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