RICHARD HOENICH

Ever since he “served notice of a major talent” in his 1983 debut at the Hollywood Bowl, Canadian Richard Hoenich has garnered critical acclaim and widespread recognition as one of his country’s most sought-after conductors. While principal bassoon with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) his conducting gifts caught the attention of Charles Dutoit. In 1985, after being named finalist at the Geneva International Conducting Competition, Mr Hoenich became Assistant Conductor of the MSO.

Richard Hoenich guest conducts every major Canadian orchestra, and makes frequent appearances in the United States, most notably as a guest of the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami. In September 1996, as a tribute to his ongoing association with the orchestra, he was the first guest in the orchestra’s history to be invited to conduct a foreign tour (to Costa Rica). Overseas, he has conducted at the Salle Pleyel and Chatelet Theatre in Paris, and at the historic Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid directing the Madrid Symphony Orchestra. In the early nineties, following a triumphant debut appearance at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires leading the Jeunesses Musicales World Youth Orchestra, he began a regular association with several south American orchestras, including the national orchestras of Argentina and Venezuela.

Mr Hoenich’s energies extend to education, with his acclaimed series of school/youth concerts in the US and Canada, and a pre-concert lecture series he helped found at the MSO in 1989. His youth concert audiences for the MSO grew to “sold-out” capacity shortly after he took over its educational program. Mr Hoenich is also deeply committed to moulding the next generation of musicians. From 1992 to 2002 he was Director of Orchestras at the New England Conservatory in Boston, and in 2002 became music director of the Community Music Centre of Boston Chamber Orchestra. He continues to serve as a clinican/conductor for high school and youth orchestra festivals, and frequently appears as a speaker on musical topics for radio, TV, and at fundraising events.

From 1982 to 1986, Mr Hoenich was Conductor and Artistic Director of the McGill University Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure the orchestra produced a critically acclaimed recording featuring Canadian contralto, Maureen Forrester, as soloist. This recording received a Special Mention for “Best Orchestral Recording”, as well as for “Best Recording of Canadian Music” by the Canadian Music Council.

A native of Montreal, Mr Hoenich began his music studies with the piano at the age eight and made his concerto debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the age of fourteen. He took up bassoon at the age eleven, eventually graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music. He joined the Montreal Symphony as principal bassoon in 1979 after serving in the same capacity in the Jerusalem Symphony.

Richard Hoenich studied conducting with Charles Dutoit, Gustav Meier and Charles Bruck, and was the recipient of conducting fellowships from the Tanglewood Music Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, where he worked with such musicians as Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn and Michael Tilson Thomas.

January 2005