The Thomasville Music & Drama Troupe has named a new director as it prepares to kick off a milestone year.

Troupe President Carolyn Betters announced Wednesday that Raymond Hughes has accepted the position of Troupe’s artistic director, just in time to begin a performance season that will include the group’s 35th annual Christmas Show and 40th Spring Show.

Hughes, the former longtime chorus master of New York’s renowned Metropolitan Opera, brings a lifetime of experience to the job, including posts in the upper echelons of classical music in Norway, South Africa and Germany, among others. A Thomasville native, Hughes worked with the Thomasville Music & Drama Troupe on several pieces earlier this year and accompanied the group during portions of its spring production in May.

“After a thorough national search with very strong candidates from as far away as New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania, as well as several from the South, Raymond Hughes was the unanimous choice of our search committee and earned the unanimous approval of Troupe’s board of directors,” Betters noted.

“We all felt that Raymond certainly had the necessary training and experience — including 16 years working with a chorus of 170 of the world’s top singers at the Metropolitan Opera — and, just as importantly, his philosophies and ideas most closely matched those that the Allens worked from when founding the Troupe,” she added.  “The fact that he is a Thomasville native and has remained an active part of the community over the years was an important, but not the deciding, factor in his choice.”

Hughes is just the third director in the Troupe’s 40+ year history.  Founder and Director Emeritus Fred Allen led the group from 1972 to 2009, and Lisa Asher Davis served as Troupe director from 2009 through the 2012 season.

This new opportunity is something of a homecoming for Hughes, an accomplished musician who first crossed paths with the Troupe’s co-founders 41 years ago when Hughes was serving as interim organist at Thomasville’s First United Methodist Church and Allen arrived to take over the church’s music program.

“I’ve known Fred and Winnie since literally the day they arrived in Thomasville in the summer of 1971, just after my senior year of high school,” Hughes recalled. “They have always been so kind and generously encouraging.  We’re now going into a new era together, and I’m so excited about this opportunity.”

The Allens gave Hughes their enthusiastic approval as well.

“We have been friends with Raymond for many years, and we believe he will do an outstanding job,” said Winnie Allen, who continues to serve on the Troupe’s board of directors.

The new director intends to hit the ground running immediately, setting plans for the group’s Christmas show, getting to know returning Troupe members and auditioning new members, a process that will begin in mid-August.

Betters said the Troupe will begin rehearsals for the 2012-13 performance season on Sunday, August 26, and the group will announce more detailed plans soon for new member auditions.  The group’s 35th annual Christmas Show is set for Tuesday, December 4, while the 40th annual Spring Show is scheduled for May 10 and 11, 2013.

For more information, visit the Troupe’s website at www.thomasvillemusicanddramatroupe.com.