Victoria Lawson  |  Soprano 

Ms. Lawson received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Furman University, Greenville, SC. She has sung throughout the Southeast in churches, concert halls, and other venues. She proudly accepted the invitation to perform the National Anthem during the Olympic Flag Welcoming Ceremonies in Atlanta in 1993. Ms. Lawson is currently a regular volunteer soloist at Embry Hills United Methodist Church and has been featured in their arts series, as well as the art series at St. Brigid Catholic Church. She frequently appears in concerts with composer/performer Rhett Barnwell and is featured on his recording, The Lord is My Shepherd (Seraphim Music). In 2008, she represented Georgia by placing 3rd in a national vocal competition sponsored by the American Mothers, Inc. Since 2017, she has been an ensemble member and soloist in the Solstice Choir, performing music by late 20th & 21st-century composers and arrangers. In the past, Ms. Lawson has led children and youth bell and choral ensembles at EHUMC, as well as served as Interim Director of Music. Currently, she directs the Children’s Choral Program at the church and teaches music in the pre-school, in addition to serving as full-time Director of Outreach & Youth Ministries. Ms. Lawson and her two children, Michael (Georgia Southern University-Armstrong) and Ashleigh (Parkview HS), reside in Gwinnett County.

Rhett Barnwell  |  Harpist & Composer 

Rhett Barnwell is a composer, arranger and performer, and the founder of Seraphim Music, which publishes sacred, classical, and meditative music for lever and pedal harp. He has concertized extensively in the United States and in Rome, Venice, and Florence, Italy, and Ireland, with Victoria Lawson and Claire Teuber. A specialist in classical and sacred music for the lever harp, he has been in demand as a presenter and performer at conferences such as the Southeastern Harp Conference, Somerset Folk Harp Festival, Harp Journeys, Beginning in the Middle, Harp Gathering and others. He has organized biannual Liturgical Harp Conferences since 2007. He has given workshops and concerts for American Harp Society Chapters in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Nashville, and New Orleans, and was a performer and presenter at the 2016 AHS National Conference and the 2017 AHS Summer Institute. Mr. Barnwell earned a Master of Music degree from St. Louis Conservatory and did a post-graduate Doctoral study at the University of Georgia. In addition to the harp, he also plays the cello, French horn, and organ, and has performed with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, AIMS Festival Orchestra in Austria, South Carolina Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, and other orchestras. He served as the Director of Music at Embry Hills UMC from 1997 – 2003 and again from 2011-2015.