He is double bass player raised in Seattle who started performing while at school. He had lessons with Ronald Simon and James Harnett of the Seattle Symphony and studied at the University of Washington. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the California Institute of the Arts.
He performed with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony and the University of Washington Symphony and in 1986 became Principal Bass with the Victoria Symphony. Two years later, in 1988, he played bass with the San Antonio Symphony and the following year in 1989 he became a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
He performs as a chamber musician and soloist in and around Chicago and has played with Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Bass Ensemble, Chicago Pro Musica, the Gunnelpumpers, Music of the Baroque and in the Chicago Symphony chamber concerts.
Recordings he has performed on include Corigliano: Symphony No. 1, Wagner: Overtures and Preludes, Arnold Schonberg: Verklarte Nacht Op.4/Piano Pieces Op. 11 & 19and Five Orchestral Pieces Op. 16/Carter/Berio/Takemitsu: Partita-Continuo-Visions, Brahms: Violin Concert/Sonata No. 3 and the soundtrack to Lincoln by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
In the field of musical education he has been a faculty member at DePaul University’s School of Music, Roosevelt University and Northwestern University. He is also a co-founder of the International Bottesini Society and has been president of Discordia Music.
He performs first on the left here…
Sources:
- https://music.depaul.edu/faculty-staff/faculty-a-z/Pages/michael-hovnanian.aspx
- https://doublebassblog.org/2006/11/chicago-symphony-bassist-michael-hovnanians-new-bass-blog.html
- https://gunnelpumpers.com/
- https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/32950/5349.pdf?sequence=1
- https://contrabassconversations.com/2007/06/10/cbc-24-m-hovnanian-interview/
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/4003709-Michael-Hovnanian