Dr. Karen Eshelman enjoys a varied career as a college educator and as a professional church musician. Since 2004 she has taught classes at Furman University in music theory, music appreciation, organ and harpsichord as needed; prior to joining Furman's faculty as an instructor, she was the instructor of organ and music theory at Presbyterian College (S.C.) for seventeen years. At St. James Episcopal Church in Greenville, S.C., where she has served since 1988, Dr. Eshelman directs the children’s, youth and adult choirs and plays the church’s new pipe organ, built by Halbert Gober in 2007. Prior to coming to St. James she served as organist/choirmaster at churches in Rochester, NY; Minneapolis, MN; and Tryon, NC.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Dr. Eshelman began her organ studies with John Strege at Trinity Episcopal Church (now Cathedral), as part of her undergraduate music degree at Portland State University. During that time, she also served as assistant organist/choirmaster at Trinity, and continued as a piano major, studying with the award-winning Czech-American composer Tomas Svoboda. At the Eastman School of Music she was a member of the class of master teacher Russell Saunders, earning her masters and doctoral degrees in organ, and receiving the Performer’s Certificate, a special award for outstanding recitalists. More recently, Dr. Eshelman has attended classes in vocal production through the McCloskey Institute of Voice.