Cleveland Orchestra Appoints New Bassoonist William Hestand

Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra yesterday announced the appointment of a new Orchestra member. William Hestand has been appointed second bassoon. He joins the Orchestra on November 19. Mr. Hestand succeeds Phillip Austin, who joined the Orchestra in 1981 and retired in August 2011.

William Hestand joins the bassoon section of The Cleveland Orchestra in November 2012. He has previously served as principal bassoon of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and second bassoon of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra. He has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Composers Orchestra, and the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Born in Columbus, Ohio, William Hestand holds bachelor of music and master of orchestral performance degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and pursued graduate studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. A former student of Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Principal Bassoon Barrick Stees, Mr. Hestand has also studied with Kim Laskowski of the New York Philharmonic, Patricia Rogers of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Jos de Lange of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He has performed in masterclasses for artists including Judith LeClair of the New York Philharmonic, Michael Werba of the Vienna Philharmonic, Christopher Millard of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and Nancy Goeres of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Hestand has appeared as concerto soloist with the Chelsea Symphony and performed in solo recitals at the Bachzaal in Amsterdam and Pforzheimer Recital Hall in New York City and in chamber music concerts at Carnegie Hall and at the American Embassy in the Dominican Republic.

Photo Credit: Da Ping Luo