William R. Hudgins

William R. Hudgins joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s clarinet section in 1992 and in 1994 was appointed principal clarinet by Seiji Ozawa. He holds the Ann S.M. Banks chair, endowed in perpetuity. He has been heard as a soloist with the BSO on numerous occasions. He made his debut as concerto soloist with the BSO in October 1995 with Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto under Seiji Ozawa; his most recent appearances as soloist were in January 2017 performing Franz Krommer’s Concerto in E-flat for two clarinets alongside former BSO clarinetist Michael Wayne and, during the BSO's online 2020-21 season, Carl Maria von Weber's Concertino, Op. 26, this past spring. Other solo appearances with the orchestra include Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, Bruch’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Viola, Frank Martin’s Concerto for Seven Winds, Timpani, Percussion, and String Orchestra, and, for the opening of the BSO’s 2014-15 season, Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat, K.297b. As a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, he can be heard on their BSO Classics CDs of Brahms and Dvořák serenades (the ensemble’s most recent release); the Grammy-nominated Profanes et Sacrées: 20th-Century French Chamber Music; Plain Song, Fantastic Dances (in music of Gandolfi, Foss, and Golijov), and the Grammy-nominated Mozart Chamber Music for Strings and Winds (in Mozart’s Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K.581), as well as a Grammy-nominated Arabesque recording of Hindemith’s Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano. Appearances outside of the BSO include orchestral performances and recordings with the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Matsumoto, Japan, and the Mito Chamber Orchestra in Mito, Japan, both under the direction of Seiji Ozawa; chamber music at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, and recitals and master classes at various universities and around the United States. Before joining the BSO, Mr. Hudgins served as principal clarinetist and soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina. He was heard for six seasons as a member of both the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Charleston, South Carolina, and Il Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He was also a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, where he won the C.D. Jackson Award for outstanding performance. Mr. Hudgins received his bachelor’s degree from the Boston University School for the Arts, studying with former BSO principal clarinetist Harold Wright.