Dr. Sue Samuels

Sue Samuels returned to Furman University, her alma mater, in 2019 as Director of Bands and Coordinator of Music Education Studies. Since she arrived at Furman, the Furman Symphonic Band has received invitational performances at the South Carolina Music Educators Conference (2022) the Grainger Festival in Chicago (2022), and the Sousa Festival in Washington, DC (2024), and the Paladin Regiment Marching Band was invited to perform in Dublin Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade this past March 2023.

Dr. Samuels’ teaching experience prior to her arrival at Furman includes 3 years as Director of Visual and Performing Arts at Randolph School in Huntsville, Alabama, 14 years as Director of Bands at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2 years as Director of Bands at WT Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, 1 year as Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Georgia, and 12 years as Assistant Director of Bands at Lassiter High School in Marietta Georgia. During her tenure as a high school band director, the bands at both Lassiter and Woodson performed at the Bands of America National Concert Band Festival, and the Lassiter Band performed at the Midwest Clinic twice (1989, 1996) and won the 1998 Marching Band Grand National Championships. Under her leadership at UAB, the band program more than doubled in number, and the band performed nationally and internationally. 

In addition to her work as a band director, Dr. Samuels enjoys being a mom to her beautiful son, Andrew, whom she adopted from Ethiopia in 2010.