A New Band Director Has Some Hoping FAMU's Band Will Return This Fall

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  In the halls of Florida A&M University’s band room, a lone baritone burbles along. It’s a sound that hasn’t been heard much in the year since FAMU’s Marching band was placed on suspension as a result of the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion. Today, the band room is in a state of disarray. Bookshelves, boxes, piano’s parts of instruments and garment bags are strewn about. Equipment manager Donald Beckwith says the department is doing a bit of Spring cleaning.

The man responsible for the clutter is new band director Sylvester Young. The 66-year-old came out of retirement to take the job. His new office is above the band rehearsal hall with a window that looks out over the chaos. His first day was June 14th. But he’s two days early. Young says he and his wife are renting for now. And he’s got plans for the band. Not only does he want to change the culture, he wants to clean up the performance fundamentals.

“Bands should be about precision," Young explained. " When the Roman army marched, they always had a drummer and they marched in step because they could go further. Precision is important. We’re going to tighten the belt and bring Dr. Foster’s dream back to reality.”    

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