Sue Samuels serves Furman University, her alma mater, as Director of Bands and Coordinator of Music Education Studies. Since she arrived at Furman in 2019, the Furman Symphonic Band has received invitational performances at the South Carolina Music Educators Conference (2022) and the Grainger Festival in Chicago (2022), and the Marching Band performed in Dublin Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 2023 and most recently performed as part of the Festival of the States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in January of 2025. The Furman Paladin Regiment and Symphonic Band are headed across the pond for the 2027 London New Year’s Day Parade next school year!
Prior to her arrival at Furman, Dr. Samuels served as Director of Arts at Randolph School in Huntsville, Alabama, Director of Bands at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Director of Bands at WT Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Georgia, and Assistant Director of Bands at Lassiter High School in Marietta Georgia. As a high school band director, Dr. Samuels led bands in successful performances at the Bands of America National Concert Band Festival , the Midwest Clinic, and Bands of America Regional and Grand National Championships. She has served students, parents, and the music education community for more than 39 years.
Dr. Samuels organizes the Furman University Band Day and the Honor Band Symposium events for high school students, the Furman Summer Band and Orchestra Camp, and the annual summer Lakeside Concert Series. A new venture is the Star of South Carolina Honor Band and Choir for which Dr. Samuels will serve as conductor and tour director for a 2027 European tour to 6 countries. She also serves as state chair for the National Band Association and is active in the College Band Director’s National Association and the Music Educator’s National Conference.
In addition to her work as a band director, Dr. Samuels enjoys being a mom to her son, Andrew—now a high school trombonist, whom she adopted from Ethiopia in 2010.
Dr. Samuels is excited about the opportunity to work and share with the talented musicians of the Carolina Youth Symphony and looks forward to making music, building community, and making memories together.
Mr. Kilgus is a trumpeter, conductor, Middle School band director from Travelers Rest, South Carolina. He received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Furman University and received a dual degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in Conducting and Music Education. A teacher in the Greenville County School District for 35 years, Mr. Kilgus currently serves as Co-Director of Bands at Mauldin Middle School, one of the largest and most successful band programs in the state of South Carolina. His program is comprised of five individual bands, a drumline, and various chamber ensembles.
Mr. Kilgus has worked with the Carolina Youth Symphony as a conductor since 1991 when he served as the conductor of the Repertory Orchestra. In 2007, CYS added the Concert Orchestra and Mr. Kilgus was chosen for the role of conductor. He has held that position since the Concert Orchestra’s inception.
Mr. Kilgus is involved as a judge in numerous festivals throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. His professional affiliations include Phi Beta Mu, the National Bandmaster’s Fraternity, Music Educator’s National Convention (MENC), and the South Carolina Band Director’s Association (SCBDA). Mr. Kilgus is also a recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence. In 2023, he received the Bandworld Legion of Honor, a special award of the John Philip Sousa Foundation, for his significant contributions to the profession through dedication to bands and band music.
Dr. Rich is a violinist, composer, and conductor from Greenville, South Carolina. A National Board Certified Instrumental Music teacher, she is the Orchestra Director of Northwest Middle School in the Greenville County School System. She is a graduate of Boston University where she earned a Masters of Music Education Degree and the University of South Carolina where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education. During her studies at USC, she performed with the University Symphony and Chamber Orchestra and was trained in string pedagogy through the nationally acclaimed String Project, a training program for rising string educators.
She is the recipient of the Yale Distinguished Musician Award and attended the Symposium on Music in Schools at Yale University. She has served on the board of the South Carolina Music Educators Association for most of her 25 years of teaching, served as the Orchestra Division President 2019-2021 and currently serves as the All-State Orchestra Chair. On the SC American String Teachers Association board, she serves as a Member At Large.
As a violinist and violist, she has performed with the Asheville Symphony, Brevard Chamber Orchestra, Hendersonville Symphony, Charlotte Philharmonic, Spartanburg Philharmonic, and the Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium. She has served as guest conductor and clinician for All Region and All County Orchestras in Anderson, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg.
Mrs. Ashley Rhoden is a violinist, conductor, teacher, and private instructor of Duncan, South Carolina. Mrs. Rhoden is a Greenville native who grew up in the Greenville County School District, graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, and attended Furman University where she received a Bachelors of Music in Music Education. In 2018, Mrs. Rhoden completed her Master of Arts in Music Education from North Greenville University. Mrs. Rhoden is a product of the Carolina Youth Symphony where she was an orchestra member, collegiate string intern, and now is thrilled to be on staff as a conductor.
Mrs. Rhoden has experience teaching a wide range of ages. She spent the first eight years of her teaching career as an orchestra director in Greenville County where she grew two full time string programs at Eastside and Riverside High Schools. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Rhoden has served as Furman’s Suzuki Institute Intern, Dean of Students for the Furman University Jazz Camp, and violinist for Mitchell Road Presbyterian.
Her professional affiliations include American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), Music Educator’s National Convention (MENC), Kindermusik International, and Palmetto State Teachers Association. In 2013, she was a recipient of the Greenville County Emerging Teacher of the Year.
In 2019 she received her Kindermusik certification as an instructor and shortly thereafter became a music teacher in Spartanburg District 5 where she currently teaches Kindergarten through 4th grade.
Mrs. Rhoden is passionate about instilling a love for music in children at a young age and helping them to achieve a strong musical foundation.
