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, and has been heard as a soloist with the BSO on numerous occasions. He made his debut as concert soloist with the BSO in October 1995 with Mozart’s Concerto for Clarinet under Seiji Ozawa; he also appeared as a soloist in January 2017 performing Franz Krommer’s Concerto for Two Clarinets alongside former BSO clarinetist Michael Wayne; and, during the BSO's online 2020-21 season, he performed Carl Maria von Weber's Concertino for Clarinet. Other solo appearances with the orchestra include Copland’s Concerto for Clarinet; Bruch’s 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 for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn. As a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Hudgins can be heard on the BSO Classics CDs of Brahms and Dvořák serenades; the Grammy-nominated “Profanes et Sacrées: 20th-Century French Chamber Music”; “Plain Song, Fantastic Dances”; the Grammy-nominated “Mozart Chamber Music for Strings and Winds” in Mozart’s Quintet for Clarinet and Strings; 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, 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 a member of both the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Charleston, South Carolina for six seasons, and has performed at Il Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He was also a Fellow of Tanglewood Music Center, where he won the C.D. Jackson Award for outstanding performance. Hudgins received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University School for the Arts, studying with former BSO principal clarinetist Harold Wright.