Special Recognition Award — Max Hobart, Retired 25-Year, Conductor of the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra


MAX HOBART

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

Great cities have great music: Our own BSO in Symphony Hall or Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. But our small town has shown it can play in the big leagues too because of a great leader Max Hobart.

Maestro Hobart has been hailed as one of Boston’s most versatile musicians. He is highly respected as a performer, conductor, and teacher, and now he’s retiring after 25 years as the Conductor of the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra.  He will conduct his final concert in May, 2022 and plans to stay in the area and pursue some guest conducting opportunities.

With great fanfare, The Wellesley Celebrations Committee, a standing committee of the Select Board, Town of Wellesley honors Max Hobart with a Special Recognition Award.

Max Hobart have given this town so much. WickedLocal.com reported “Many people tell me the Wellesley Symphony is the best community orchestra in the entire area. And that is due to Max,” said Holmes. “Having played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 27 years, his knowledge is so vast, and his expectations for excellence from our orchestra are sometimes almost beyond what you can possibly expect from a community orchestra, although I would not call the Wellesley Symphony a community orchestra. It’s really a regional orchestra. Our players come from 35 different towns.”

Founded in Wellesley in 1948, the WSO performs and rehearses at MassBay Community College. Today the WSO has more than 150 selections on YouTube.

Hobart became WSO maestro in 1993 and has performed with the New Orleans Symphony, National Symphony of Washington D.C., and Cleveland Orchestra prior to joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1965, where he served as assistant concertmaster of the BSO under Erich Leinsdorf, William Steinberg and Seiji Ozawa and concertmaster of the Boston Pops under Arthur Fiedler and John Williams.”

We wish Max Hobart well and thank him for the beautiful music, and great performances he gave us. 

May 18th & 19th, 2024