Max Hobart is an American conductor and violinist. He was music director emeritus of the Boston Civic Symphony. Mr. Hobart was also conductor and music director for the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2021. [1]
Originally from Nebraska, Hobart grew up in Bell Gardens, California where he learned to play the violin. He later had private study with guitarist John Williams. Orchestras he has played with include the New Orleans Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. [2]
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO performs most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at Tanglewood.
The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus (1972) are part of the organization. Michael Tilson Thomas became the orchestra's music director in 1995, and concluded his tenure in 2020 when Esa-Pekka Salonen took over the position.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. Klaus Mäkelä was named music director-designate in 2024, with his first contractual season to begin in 2027. The orchestra's most recent music director is Riccardo Muti, whose tenure spanned 13 seasons, from 2010 to 2023, and he continues to perform on occasion as director-emeritus. The CSO is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five".
Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is currently the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia and co-director of the MISA Festival in Shanghai.
Erich Leinsdorf was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality. He also published books and essays on musical matters.
Seiji Ozawa was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After conducting the Vienna New Year's Concert in 2002, he was director of the Vienna State Opera until 2010. In Japan, he founded the Saito Kinen Orchestra in 1984, their festival in 1992, and the Tokyo Opera Nomori in 2005.
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the state government and the Australian federal government through the Australia Council.
Joseph Harry Silverstein was an American violinist and conductor.
The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. Its home venue is the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in downtown Portland's Cultural District.
The New Philharmonia Orchestra of Massachusetts, or the New Phil for short, is a 75-member mostly non-professional regional orchestra based in Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. It was founded in 1995. The New Phil performs in at the First Baptist Church in Newton, and on occasion at Mission Church in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, as well as other locations in the region.
Stuart David Challender was an Australian conductor, known particularly for his work with The Australian Opera, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Milton Katims was an American violist and conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony for 22 years (1954–76). In that time he added more than 75 works, made recordings, premiered new pieces and led the orchestra on several tours. He expanded the orchestra's series of family and suburban outreach concerts. He is also known for his numerous transcriptions and arrangements for viola.
The North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra was originally formed in 1946 as the Lynn Symphony Orchestra by a group of 15 North Shore musicians. The Orchestra assumed the name North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra in the fall of 1947, and commenced a musical legacy which celebrated its Sixtieth Anniversary in 2007.
The Boston Civic Symphony is the second oldest orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, colloquially known as the Sakkyō (札響), is a Japanese orchestra based in Sapporo, Japan. The only professional orchestra in Hokkaido, it performs at the Sapporo Concert Hall.
Victor Yampolsky is a Russian-born conductor and the son of pianist Vladimir Yampolsky. He was most recently director of orchestras at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music, a position he had held from 1984 to 2022. He is the music director emeritus of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, where he was music director from 1995 to 2004. He also is the music director of the Peninsula Music Festival and the honorary director of the Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Before his appointment to the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Yampolsky served as the principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of South Africa and as the resident conductor of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the training ground for younger musicians under the auspices of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Hobart Earle is a Venezuelan-born conductor of American descent and People's Artist of Ukraine recipient.
Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.
Ken-David Masur is a German-born American conductor.
George Ellis is an Australian conductor, composer and orchestrator. He presents concerts for international events with a broad range of styles from classical to pop/rock and jazz as well as presenting orchestral concerts for young audiences. He also lectures in conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and is a regular presenter of Sonic Journey for ABC Radio Sydney’s program with Simon Marnie.