Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and holds a degree in music education with concentrations in violin and viola from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a public and private school music educator and has performed with orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. In The Violin Conspiracy (Anchor), growing up Black in rural North Carolina means Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But he’s determined to become a world-class violinist and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism running rampant in classical music. When Ray discovers that his beat-up family fiddle is a priceless Stradivarius, his dreams suddenly seem within reach. But on the eve of the Tchaikovsky Competition, the violin is stolen, and there’s a ransom note for $5 million to return it. Without it, Ray feels like he’s lost a piece of himself. Now he must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself – and the world – that no matter the outcome, there has always been a great musician within him.