Winner, Astral Artists’ 2009 National Auditions
Heralded as a “boldly emergent personality” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Harrison Hollingsworth is the principal bassoonist of the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center. He also holds the Eileen McManimen principal bassoon chair for Symphony in C, where has served additionally as program annotator and first violinist. He has also been principal bassoonist of the Long Island Philharmonic the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Phantom of the Opera Orchestra, and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Kingwood, Texas, Mr. Hollingsworth is a winner of Astral Artists’ 2009 National Auditions.
Mr. Hollingsworth pursues many musical activities. An original member of the Mimesis Ensemble (with whom he made his Kennedy Center conducting debut), he also works as a freelance conductor in New York City, where he conducts recording sessions at Avatar Studios and serves as a clinician for various orchestras (most recently, for the Westchester Area All-State Orchestra). Also an avid fiddler, he was an original member of the Philadelphia bluegrass band Wissahickon Chicken Shack, and now plays with the Brooklyn string band Union Street Preservation Society, which released its debut album in June 2010.
An advocate for new music both on the podium and in the recital hall, Mr. Hollingsworth has premièred multiple new works for bassoon, including Teddy Abrams’ Bassoon Sonata, of which he is the dedicatee. Also an avid chamber musician, he has appeared at the Kingston Music Festival, and has performed widely as bassoonist/violinist of the unorthodox improvising ensemble Sixth Floor Trio, which opened for Marvin Hamlisch in 2009.
As a soloist, Mr. Hollingsworth gave his recital debut on Astral’s series in October 2009. He has played concertos with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Symphony in C, the Clear Lake Symphony, and many others. He has also been featured in recital on WHYY ARTS television series “On Stage at Curtis,” NPR’s syndicated radio show “From the Top,” and WHYY 91 FM Radio’s “Showcase,” which broadcast the radio première of his brass choir composition Fanfare and Contrapunctus. His bassoon playing can also be heard on Arturo Ripstein’s new film Las Razones del Corazon.
Mr. Hollingsworth is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he held the Sheldon Bonovitz Fellowship and studied with both Bernard Garfield and Daniel Matsukawa, the retired and current principal bassoonists of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He is also a graduate of the Mannes College for Music, where he received a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting under David Hayes. Under a grant from the Williamson Foundation for Music, he also studied orchestral conducting with Michael Jinbo at the Pierre Monteux School.
Updated: JUNE 2011
