Wikipedia

Tobias Hug

Tobias Hug (1 January 1976 – 9 January 2020) was a German a cappella singer, beatboxer, coach and judge. He was the first German member of a cappella group, The Swingle Singers (now called 'The Swingles') and one of its longest serving members, performing with them for 11 years.[1] Hug founded the a cappella festival Black Forest Voices in 2019.[2]

Tobias Hug
Born
Tobias Rafael Hug

(1976-01-01)1 January 1976
Freiburg, Germany
Died31 January 2020(2020-01-31) (aged 44)
Freiburg, Germany
NationalityGerman
Other namesTobi
BFG (Black Forest Ghetto)
EducationMusikhochschule Trossingen
Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus
Occupation(s)Singer, beatboxer, music arranger, singing coach, judge

Together with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), Hug entered the Guinness World Records in 2017 for arranging the world's largest beatbox choir.[3] Hug's arrangement of Walter Murphy's A Fifth of Beethoven, recorded by The Swingles featured in the pilot episode of Glee.[4]

Early life and education

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Tobias Rafael Hug was born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. He initially pursued a career in anthropology. At 23 he studied music education, with a principal study in French horn, at Musikhochschule Trossingen, where he set up his first a cappella group. Hug was a member of Jazzchor Freiburg, the a cappella group SiX and the State Youth Big Band of Baden-Wuerttemberg.[5] He moved to London in 2001 to join the Swingle Singers.[6] He earned an MA in Rhythmic Choir Conducting and Vocal Leadership from the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark.[7]

The Swingle Singers

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Hug was a member of the Swingle Singers (now known as The Swingles) from 2001 until 2012. He was one of the group's longest serving members and its first German singer. He was the group's artistic director from 2008 to 2010, and arranged multiple collaborations, including with Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic. With The Swingles he recorded six studio albums and performed in over 700 concerts around the world.[8] Hug's arrangement of Walter Murphy's A Fifth of Beethoven was the first track of the Swingles' 2007 album Beauty and the Beatbox, released by Signum Classics.[9] This recording appeared in the pilot episode of Glee, which first aired on Fox on 19 May 2009.[10][11] Hug and the Swingle Singers appeared in the award-winning 2010 advert Welcome Home for T-Mobile UK.[12]

In a 2012 BBC Radio 3 interview as part of the 2012 London A Cappella Festival, when "asked how long one could remain as a Swingle Singer", Hug responded that "touring takes a toll." He announced his retirement from the group the same day.[13][14]

Beatbox Choir

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In 2008, together with Shlomo, Hug created the world's first Beatbox Choir, which appeared at the International Beatbox Convention at the Southbank Centre.[15]

After the Swingle Singers

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Hug left the Swingles in 2012 to focus on coaching, judging, performing and managing groups and events. In these roles he travelled extensively, including to Hong Kong,[16] Taiwan,[17] Singapore,[18] Croatia,[19] Denmark, Estonia,[20] France,[21] Greece,[22] Italy,[23] Norway,[24] Sweden, America[25] and Kenya.[26]

Festivals

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Hug was involved in the establishment of the following vocal festivals and organisations:

  • 2010: London A Cappella Festival (UK) – co-founder[27]
  • 2011: European Voices Association (Denmark) – founding member[28]
  • 2014 – 2016: Fossano Musica Foundation's a cappella festival Vocalamente (Italy) – founding artistic director[29][30]
  • 2019: Black Forest Voices (Germany) an annual a cappella festival based in Kirchzarten, where he spent his youth – founder[31]

Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG)

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In June 2017 Hug worked with HKFYG to create the Concert of Ten Thousand Voices at the Hong Kong Coliseum. As part of the event, they entered the Guinness World Records for creating "the largest human beatbox performance".[32]

Collaborations and groups

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Hug collaborated with many musicians, including Bobby McFerrin (whom he joined on the VOCAbuLarieS tour), Katia Labèque, Tiefschwartz, New York Voices, Shlomo, Zap Mama[33] and the The Puppini Sisters.[34] As a member of London Voices, Hug appeared on several soundtracks, including Star Wars, The Hobbit and World of Warcraft.[35] He also joined Beatvox and the Beatbox Collective,[36] whose members included Reeps One and Bellatrix.[37]

Hug's vocals appeared on the soundtrack to the 2012 film Miss Threadgold (Dir. Carol Allen).[38]

Teaching and coaching

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Hug coached London-based choir Chantage to develop their beatboxing, which resulted in a performance at the Purcell Room.[39] In 2014 Hug worked with the Yehudi Menuhin outreach programme, delivering a beatboxing workshop to young musicians,[40] and also appeared at Enterprise Music Scotland's Music Education Matters conference.[41] He presented Beatbox and Beyond: Using the Voice as an Instrument at the 2015 Pan European Voice Conference in Florence, Italy[42] and The Future of Networking and Collaboration at the LEO Sings! Diversity of Singing Practices in Europe as part of the Leonardo da Vinci programme in Freiburg, Germany.[43]

Discography

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Hug appeared on the following Swingle Singers' albums:

Year Album Notes
2002 Mood Swings
2003 Retrospective – The 40th Anniversary Show
2004 Unwrapped
2007 Beauty and the Beatbox Featuring Hug's arrangement of Walter Murphy's A Fifth of Beethoven
2009 Ferris Wheels
2011 Yule Songs Vol. II Hug appeared on two tracks: O Holy Night and O Come, O Come Emmanuel
2013 Mood Swings
Weather to Fly Hug appeared on four tracks: The Diva Aria, Weather to Fly, Woman in Chains and Gemiler Giresune

Hug's arrangement of A Fifth of Beethoven, performed by The Swingle Singers and Shlomo, also appeared on the 2012 Signum Anniversary Series A Cappella Collection

Posthumous dedications

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After Hug's death, Luxembourg's Festival A CAPE'lla dedicated their 2020 festival to him.[44] Hug's family established The Tobias Hug Scholarship as part of the Black Forest Voices festival, which also dedicated a new song to Hug, "The Call of Melody", in 2020.[45]

References

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  1. ^ Thomas Cunnifee. "The Swingle Singers: Making the music dance Part 2". jazzhistoryonline.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  2. ^ "Black Forest Voices team". blackforestvoices.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  3. ^ HKYFG Annual report 2016-2017 (Report). HKFYG. p. 71 =.
  4. ^ "Beauty and the Beatbox". Chandos.net. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  5. ^ "Interkultur congratulates on anniversary". interkultur.com. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  6. ^ "The Boston Pops Orchestra". Boston Pops Orchestra Season 126. Boston, USA: Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc. 2011. p. 41.
  7. ^ "Tobias Hug". bundesakademie-trossingen.de. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  8. ^ Thomas Cunnifee. "The Swingle Singers: Making the music dance Part 2". jazzhistoryonline.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  9. ^ "Beauty and the Beatbox". Chandos.net. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  10. ^ "Tobias Hug". ingeniumacademy.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  11. ^ "Tobias Hug Biography". singers.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  12. ^ "Unconventional choirs from around the world". gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  13. ^ Human Beatbox (2014-07-29). "Tobias Hug". humanbeatbox.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  14. ^ "Youth Squre x Vocal Asia". prnasia.com. 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  15. ^ "Vocal Asia Festival". vocalasia.com. 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  16. ^ "Vocal Edge with Tobias Hug 2013". sgvolunteer.com. 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  17. ^ "Porec 2017 – Closing - Beatboxing". interkultur.tv. 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  18. ^ "Conductors and Composers programme". ectallinn2018.ee. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  19. ^ "Activities Formation". Spectacles a Metz (No. 275 ed.). Metz, France: Spectacles. November 2020. p. 54.
  20. ^ "37 choirs made Corfu rock". interkultur.com. 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  21. ^ "Flash mob in Fossano". vocalmente.net. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  22. ^ "Konsert med Terrablue Voices og Tobias Hug". vestfoldguide.no. 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  23. ^ "The Boston Pops Orchestra". Boston Pops Holiday Programs Season 124. Boston USA: Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc. 2009. p. 140.
  24. ^ "Vocaloops: The Human Loop Station and Circle Singing". ectallinn2018.ee. 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  25. ^ Human Beatbox (2014-07-29). "Tobias Hug". humanbeatbox.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  26. ^ Tilo Beckmann (2020-03-14). "Tobias Hug passed away". europeanvoices.org. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  27. ^ Laura Serafini (2020-01-10). "Farewell to Tobias Hug". lastampa.it. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  28. ^ Diversity of Singing Practices in Europe (PDF) (Report). LEO Sings. 2015-03-08. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  29. ^ "Black Forest Voices team". blackforestvoices.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  30. ^ HKYFG Annual report 2016-2017 (Report). HKFYG. p. 71 =.
  31. ^ Human Beatbox (2014-07-29). "Tobias Hug". humanbeatbox.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  32. ^ "Beatboxing and Looping Masterclass". icmp.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  33. ^ "Tobias Hug". bundesakademie-trossingen.de. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  34. ^ "The Beatbox Collective". orchestraofsamples.com. 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  35. ^ "Conductors and speakers". Europa Cantat XX. Tallinn, Estonia: Europa Cantat. 2018-07-27. p. 68.
  36. ^ "Cast and Crew credits Miss Threadgold". catswhiskersfilms.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  37. ^ James Davey. "The winner takes it all". jamesdavey.org. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  38. ^ "Outreach news". The Yehudi Menuhin School (No. 57 ed.). London, UK: Yehudi Menuhin School. Spring 2014. p. 5.
  39. ^ James Davey. "The winner takes it all". jamesdavey.org. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  40. ^ "Programme". Pan European Voice Conference Abstract Book. Florence, Italy: University degli studi Firenze. 2015-08-31. p. 56.
  41. ^ Diversity of Singing Practices in Europe (PDF) (Report). LEO Sings. 2015-03-08. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  42. ^ "Tobias Hug AKA BFG 1976-2020". thebeatboxcollective.com. 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  43. ^ "The Tobias Hug Scholarship" (PDF). blackforestvoices.com. 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
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