Hobart Earle has quite a history with Richardson Auditorium. Toward the end of his senior year at Princeton in 1983, he was invited to take the stage and lead the Princeton University Orchestra in Barber's "Adagio for Strings" during a concert. Orchestra conductor Michael Pratt took the unusual step with Earle, who was his first conducting student at the University and the clarinet section leader.
Ten years later, Earle returned with his baton to Richardson -- this time as music director and principal conductor of the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra in Ukraine. As the first American citizen to head an orchestra in the former Soviet Union, he had made his alma mater one of the stops on a U.S. tour.
Next month, Earle will step on the Richardson stage, once again at the invitation of Pratt. After 25 years as the University's orchestra conductor, Pratt has taken a one-semester leave to recharge his batteries. He invited Earle to take a trip halfway around the world to serve as the guest conductor for the orchestra's Dec. 5 and 7 concerts.
Read the full story in the Weekly Bulletin.
Contact: Eric Quinones (609) 258-3601
