After more than five decades as minister of music at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Floyd A. Hearns Jr. has become a permanent fixture of the Meridian church.
Soft spoken and modest about his musical legacy, Hearns said he is most at home when surrounded by music.
"In my leisure time, that's what I do ... play the piano," he said.
A native of Bessemer, Ala., Hearns' love for music developed at the tender age of 9, when a family loss became his gain.
"My aunt Minnie B. and uncle Willie Hampton lost their home during the Great Depression and my parents received their piano," he said. "A cousin, Georgia Reed, taught me my first piano lessons."
At the age of 13, Hearns played for Sunday School and churches in the Bessemer/Birmingham area. He later majored in music at Alabama State College, where he played drums and bell lyre in the marching band and xylophone in the concert band. Piano and choral music were his special interests.
Always part of the college choir, Hearns played for services while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He directed the Boy Scouts of America Chorus, a special group that traveled to various cities on special occasions. He also taught his three sisters music.
While he does not consider himself a composer, Hearns said he likes to arrange tones suitable for ensembles and other choruses.
"I enjoy classical, contemporary and sacred music," he said. "'Hymns of the church' are mostly what I teach during the local and East Mississippi Baptist State Congress."
His passion for music has extended to his three sons, Reginald, Ronald Sr. and Roland.
Reginald, who started playing piano by ear at age 3, plays bass guitar and sometimes piano at Wilson Chapel Baptist Church in Birmingham. He also plays trumpet and organ.
Ronald Sr. is a self-made musician, beginning with drums he received at the age 5. He played drums in junior and high school bands, and for the young adult choir at New Hope. He occasionally plays in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
Youngest son, Roland, also took piano lessons at an early age and played for Sunday School at New Hope.
A third generation of Hearns musicians has evolved through grandson Patrick Hearns, son of Ronald Sr. and Emma Hearns. Patrick began taking piano lessons from his grandfather in junior high school and his music repertoire includes the Meridian Community College Gospel Choir, the Inspirational Choir at New Hope and the Sweet Spirits and the Male Ensemble at St. Paul United Methodist Church.
Hearns has taught private piano lessons for several decades, however he now teaches on a very limited basis. His advice to aspiring musicians:
"Find your place; the sky is the limit, the challenge of change is Now. Your dreams are possible," he said.
Hearns memberships – both professional and civic – include the National Music Teachers Association; the state and local League of Meridian Music Teachers (member and president), the Optimist Club, Toastmasters and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. In addition to serving as minister of music at New Hope, he has served as a layman, as well as a Sunday School teacher and superintendent.
He is married to Bettye Hearns, a retired librarian with the Meridian Public School District.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Star of the Week: Floyd A. Hearns Jr.
- Local News
-
-
Local law enforcement officials honored
State Rep. Greg Snowden said he remembered as a child looking up to those "men in blue."
He said police officers in uniform were larger than life, riding in their patrol cars and carrying guns to protect and serve the population. Today, he said he is still in great admiration of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day so that citizens can feel safe. -
MPD probes vehicle crash
Evidence of a mother's desperate attempt to save her children from harm were spread all over a car lot — and could be seen on her as well in the form of bruises, cuts and scrapes.
Tuesday night, a vehicle with three children inside crashed through a plate glass showroom floor window damaging four new cars and totaling the vehicle the children were in. -
Skeleton found in residence
Members of the forensics team of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) were called to a dilapidated home in Chunky to probe the discovery of a skeleton.
-
Police search for robbery suspects
Two men who reportedly robbed a woman at gunpoint in the parking lot of a local bank are still being sought.
Mike Vick, public information officer with the Meridian Police Department, said the two men approached a woman about 8 p.m. Tuesday at the ATM of Regions Bank on North Hills Street. Vick said one of the suspects was armed with a handgun and after taking an undetermined amount of cash and the victim's car keys, the two suspects fled on foot. -
City cuts payment to Watkins
The Meridian City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to cut their monthly payment to David Watkins, project developer of Meridian's new police station, by $9,999 until work resumes on the project.
The order, made during the Meridian City Council meeting Tuesday morning, included a mutual agreement between the councilmen and Watkins to reduce the project developer's monthly consultant fee of $10,000 to $1, effective Tuesday. -
Crews work on gasoline pipeline
If you hear a loud, booming sound early today, between 4 a.m.-10 a.m., there is no cause for alarm.
Workers with Plantation Pipeline will be performing maintenance work on their 30-foot gasoline pipeline in the Meridian area to accommodate the widening of Highway 493. The location of the work activity will be at Highway 493 North and Oak Hill Baptist Church, just inside the city limits. -
Team Spirit
-
High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
Master Dance Class
-
Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. - More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
