New Singer director brings fresh energy to alma mater

For nearly forty years, the face of the Furman Singers has been Bingham Vick, conductor of the group since 1970. Next fall, as Vick steps down, Hugh Floyd of Oberlin College Conservatory of Music will take up his position and baton.A Furman Singer himself (class of 1984), Floyd was the student conductor during his senior year. Vick remembers him as a "very intense, very hard-working individual," putting him on level musically with Keith Lockhart, another former Furman Singer directed by Vick who has gone on to direct the Boston Pops.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Hugh Floyd is the right choice to continue to move Furman Singers forward," Vick said.

Floyd said when he was at Furman, he was "highly, highly energetic, even hyperactive, but very determined." He joked that when Vick won the Furman Meritorious Teacher of the Year Award in 1984, it was because Floyd had been his student conductor that year.

"That was his penance prize for having to teach me," Floyd said. "If he could teach me, he could teach anyone."

When he takes over next year, Floyd will be only the third director of the group, after DuPre Rhame, the group's founder, and Vick.

"To continue a tradition like that is really awe inspiring and a little nerve wracking," said Floyd. "There are big shoes to fill."

Musically, Floyd knows he is up to par, as does Vick. Floyd, the director of choral studies at Oberlin, holds a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music and a doctorate from the University of Michigan.

However, the heart of the Furman Singers goes beyond just the music.

"We developed key relationships and lifetime friends," Floyd said, recalling the family atmosphere he experienced during his days as a Singer, which he now hopes to continue. "The kind of intense love [Vick] has for his students and the intense dedication is something I'm going to have to focus my energy on."

Generally, the Furman Singers are optimistic about the promise Floyd brings.

"The student opinion was that he was a very talented candidate and would do a great job," said Stephen Stacks, the president of the Singers and student liaison for the search committee. "From the beginning, we could see that he is very committed to making Furman Singers better, and will continue the great tradition."

Roddey Smith, a sophomore Singer who has experienced two years of Vick's leadership, became excited about Floyd after he led a Furman Singers rehearsal last semester. "He had a lot of energy," Smith said. "I really like his conducting style; he's very visual."

As much as students look forward to the innovation and change a new director will bring, there are certain traditions that they hope to remain the same despite the change of leadership.

"Furman Singers should progress and it will change, but there are certain things that make it unique," said Stacks, citing such traditions as the singing of "Brown Eyes" and the tours as important parts of the Singers experience.

Mark Helms, a freshman Singer, is among those comforted by the fact that, as an alumni, Floyd already has a sense of the group's connection.

"I think that since he is a former Furman Singer, he knows a lot of things that Singers do," said Helms. "I think it'll make the transition a lot easier."

Floyd said he does not want to overhaul Singers, but to "keep the best of the past as we move forward."

Just the fact that he is a different personality brings with it different temperament and tastes, Floyd said. He hopes to expand the repertoire of the Singers to include more 20th and 21st century music and expand the touring tradition to include "more exotic destinations" like South America and the Pacific Rim.

Floyd also said he wants the group to do more performances in actual concert halls and do some trips that combine singing and a service project.

"When the group travels together it changes the dynamic," said Floyd, who remembers the Furman Singers tours as key college experiences. "There's a real bonding dynamic when you're spending so much time together, whether for good or for ill."

Any changes he brings in will not come into effect immediately. "It's been running so well, there'll be enough changes with just a change in personality," he said.

Floyd is ready to embrace the challenges and changes coming to Furman will bring. "It's home for me," he said. Not only did he attend the university, but, as a native of Greer, S.C., Floyd attended the Furman strings camp several times in elementary school.

He said his experience with the search committee was fundamental in his desire to return. "There's a warmth to Furman, a positive energy, a light to the place," he said. "I want to be a part of that.