Percussionist from the Lone Star State who attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Peabody Institute, Tanglewood Music Center, and Temple University, where he studied under Alan Abel.
He joined the Florida Symphony Orchestra in 1982 and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1990.
Other groups with whom he has worked include the Annapolis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Collage New Music, the Empire Brass Quintet, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pursuance, the Riverside Symphony, the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and the Springfield Symphony.
In 1993, the Boston Pops and John Williams went on a tour of Japan.
William and bassist Joseph Conyers, violinist Gillian Clements and violist Joanne Wojtowicz participated in the BSO’s prelude concert at Seiji Ozawa Hall on 12th August 2000.
On 8th August 2001, he and other members of the BSO were joined by Dawn Upshaw at Ozawa Hall for “Folk Songs” by Luciano Berio, “Hungarian Folk-Song Settings” by Bela Bartok, songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Gustav Mahler, and “Songs with Piano” by Charles Ives.
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was the guest vocalist when the BSO performed “Neruda Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra” by Peter Lieberson at Verizon Hall on 10th March 2006. Also on the program were “Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92” by Ludwig van Beethoven, “Three Illusions” by Elliott Carter, and “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28” by Richard Strauss.
On 1st July 2011, the Boston Pops teamed up with James Taylor and John Williams for an eclectic concert that featured highlights from the soundtrack of Catch Me If You Can: William performed the vibraphone, Dan Higgins was on alto saxophone, and Mike Valerio played bass.
The BSO offered up Bartok’s “Sonata for Two Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra” at Symphony Hall in October 2011. William, Timothy and Everett Firth comprised the percussion section, with Randall Hodgkinson and Benjamin Pasternak at the keys.
In January 2012, the BSO interpreted Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”, Richard Strauss’s “Serenade in E flat, Op. 7”, Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings” and Henri Tomasi’s “Good Friday Procession” from Fanfares liturgiques.
Recordings on which he appears include America, American Visions, The Celtic Album, Holiday Pops, My Favorite Things: A Richard Rodgers Celebration and A Splash of Pops by the Boston Pops, and The Glory of Gabrieli by the Empire Brass Quintet.
In the field of music education, he has taught at the New England Conservatory of Music and Tanglewood Music Center.
Sources:
- http://www.ericbrahinsky.com/txclassical.html
- http://www.bso.org/micro-sites/tanglewood-music-center/faculty/instrumental-and-orchestra-studies-faculty/j-will-hudgins-percussion-tmc.aspx
- http://www.grandorchestras.com/bostonpops/tours/orchestra_japan_1993.html
- http://www.carlfischer.com/fischer/composers/fossnews.html
- http://www.bostonphoenix.com/supplements/summer/01/listings/CLASSICAL_MASS_BERK_TANGLEWOOD_BOSTON_SYMPHONY_ORCHESTRA.html
- http://www.kimmelcenter.org/events/notes/item/0506/bso_notes.pdf
- http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/07-02-2011_james-taylor-marathon-at-tanglewood.htm
- http://www.yesterdayservice.com/PerfBart.html
- http://artsfuse.org/49791/fuse-concert-review-the-bso-handles-a-last-minute-cancellation-with-aplomb/
- http://necmusic.edu/faculty/will-hudgins?lid=2&sid=3
- http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/j-william-hudgins/2830878
- http://www.amismusicalcircle.com/cds/cd-024.htm
- http://necmusic.edu/bso