Hudgins, William R.

Clarinetist who attended the Boston University School for the Arts and Tanglewood Music Center and studied with Pasquale Cardillo, Jules Serpentini, Richard Waller, and Harold Wright.

In 1992, he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra and became principal clarinet in 1994. In 1995, he made his BSO solo debut in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

Other groups with whom he has worked include the Atlanta Opera, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Discovery Ensemble, the Mito Chamber Orchestra, the Nashua Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal, the Saito Kinen Orchestra, and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra.

On 24^th March 2002, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players performed Francis Poulenc’s “Sextuor” at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

William and his wife Catherine played Concerto for Two Clarinets by Carl Stamitz in a Valentine’s Day concert on 14^th February 2004.

On 2^nd December 2004, the BSO offered up Hector Berlioz’s dramatic symphony, Romeo et Juliette.

The BSO appeared at Verizon Hall on 10^th March 2006 in a program that comprised Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92, Elliott Carter’s “Three Illusions”, Peter Lieberson’s “Neruda Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra”, and Richard Strauss’s “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28”.

In April 2009, they coupled Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.

William was one of five BSO members who performed Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet at Senator Edward Kennedy’s funeral on 29^th August 2009.

In June 2010, he participated in the Rockport Chamber Music Festival at Shalin Liu Performance Center. He also took part in the Concert for the Cure in December 2010.

On 3^rd April 2011, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players took the stage at Jordan Hall for Johannes Brahms’ Trio in E flat, Op. 40, Gyorgy Kurtag’s “Bagatelles, Op. 14d” and “Hommage a Robert Schumann, Op. 15d”, and Franz Schubert’s Quintet, D. 667 (“Trout”).

William reprised Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the BSO and conductor Johannes Debus on 6th April 2011. The concert was rounded out by Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 97 and Mozart’s Symphony No. 32.

On 16^th October 2011, the BSO were back at Jordan Hall for Antonin Dvorak’s Quintet in G, Leos Janacek’s “Mladi”, and Bohuslav Martinu’s Sextet for Piano and Winds.

William was a guest soloist of the Discovery Ensemble on 6^th November 2011 in Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. Their program consisted of Julian Anderson’s “Khorovod”, Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, Haydn’s Symphony No. 90, and Maurice Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite”.

On 22^nd January 2012, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players serenaded their audience with Beethoven’s Serenade in D, Op. 25, Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 (arranged by Jorge Rotter), and Mozart’s Serenade No. 12 in C minor, K. 388.

The BSO shone the spotlight on several of their soloists, including William, in a 2012 concert that included Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto for Three Violins, Bela Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (concerto version), Max Bruch’s “Kol Nidre”, and Frank Martin’s Concerto for Seven Winds.

William has also appeared on a handful of recordings with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players: Hindemith: Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano/Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57; Mozart: Chamber Music for Winds and Strings; Plain Song, Fantastic Dances; and, Profanes et Sacrees: 20^th-Century French Chamber Music.

Sources:

Hudgins, William R.

Navigation