Spirit of Harmony Foundation to Present 2016 Singring Award to DR. BILL HURD

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Aug. 2, 2016 - PRLog -- Bill Hurd has always PLAYED LIKE A CHAMPION, whether in music, sports, academics, or charitable works. To honor his accomplishments, the Spirit of Harmony Foundation will present him with their annual Singring Award at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on October 1, 2016.

Todd Rundgren, Founder and President of the Foundation, will be on campus as Artist In Residence September 22-October 1. The award will be presented on the final night of the Residency, during a concert at which Rundgren will be performing with student bands and ensembles. Dr. Hurd has been invited to bring his saxophone.

The spirit of the "Play Like a Champion Today" theme will be interwoven throughout Todd's visit to explore the youth development benefits of both athletics and music.

Hurd graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1969 with a degree (with honors) in electrical engineering. He entered ND in 1965 as one of only 12 African American freshmen. He was a world-class sprinter, and set the American record for the 300-yard dash (29.8 seconds) and had five All-America finishes at the 1968 and 1969 NCAA Championship meets. As an undergraduate, he was also a standout jazz saxophonist who was named "most promising sax" at the Collegiate Jazz Festival.

After ND, he added graduate degrees from M.I.T. (master's in management science) and Meaharry Medical School in Nashville, and was a Rhodes Scholarship regional finalist. He holds two U.S./foreign patents for optical devices, including a slit-lamp, mountable intraocular biometer.

Dr. Hurd is an accomplished jazz musician, and is currently completing work on his fourth CD, in which he plays the saxophone and flute.

Now a practicing ophthalmologist, Dr. Hurd annually travels to such places as Madagascar, Mexico and Kenya, where he performs pro bono eye surgeries for hundreds. "Most of these people [have] never seen a doctor before, let alone an eye surgeon," says Hurd, who is authoring an autobiography tentatively titled Memphis to Madagascar.

Notre Dame has given Hurd numerous honors, including the Moose Krause Award in 2002, and the Alumni Association's 1992 Harvey Foster Award in recognition of distinguished civic activity. The NCAA also bestowed its prestigious Silver Anniversary Award upon him in 1994 and he remains one of the university's most decorated student-athletes, more than three decades since his graduation.

This is the second time the Spirit of Harmony Foundation http://www.spiritofharmony.org has presented the Singring Award. The first Singring Award was presented in 2015 to President Bill Clinton to recognize his lifetime commitment to the arts in children's education.

# # #


Rundgren's Artist in Residency: In addition to Rundgren's classes and concert, he will also attend the Fighting Irish vs. Duke Blue Devils football game on September 24 and be the subject of a First Time Fans documentary. The Foundation will be organizing an on-campus collection of used musical instruments for national redistribution to music students in need, and will offer a music education workshop for local elementary school teachers.


The Spirit of Harmony Foundation supports the moral imperative of music education, weaving together the social, biological, economic, and academic benefits to young people who are involved in consistent instrument-based music lessons and performance. Our organization focuses on networking, as we help match the practical and varied needs of music education programs with the resources that will help them excel.

We believe in providing opportunities for personal development and self-expression through the support of music and music education for young people regardless of socioeconomic status, geographic location, or ability.