In case you haven't heard the news, Billy Hestand is the winner of today's audition for second bassoon of The Cleveland Orchestra!
I had the good fortune to hear Billy play through the audition material a couple of days ago when he stopped in Columbus on his way to the Cleveland audition. What a thrill it was to hear a bassoonist who was on the verge of winning a position in one of the world's greatest orchestras. Clearly, he played like a winner. He had what I would describe as the Cleveland sound - very beautiful and refined - never out of control or the slightest bit crass. The beginnings and releases of his notes were subtle and perfectly controlled. He found the right character for each excerpt, showing total command of the orchestral repertoire. He was ultra prepared, calm and confident.
That's what a winner sounds like. Congratulations, Billy!
William Hestand has been principal bassoon of the Brooklyn
Philharmonic since January 2009, and has played second bassoon in the
Lancaster Festival Orchestra since the summer of
2008. An active freelancer, William has been heard in performance with
The New York Philharmonic, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American
Composer’s Orchestra, and The Delaware Symphony
Orchestra, and has performed under the baton of Pierre Boulez, Kurt
Masur, Christoph Eschenbach, and Pinchas Zuckerman. William received
both his bachelor of music and master of music degree
from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Patricia Rogers
and Kim Laskowski. An active chamber musician and solo recitalist, he
has performed internationally for audiences in The
Netherlands, The Dominican Republic, and has been heard at Carnegie
Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.
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