Basic Facts
Born: November 6, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Type of Performer: Harpist
Genre: Classical
Awards/Notable Achievements:
- First Black woman to play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra
- Honorary Doctorate from Bridgewater State College (1988)
- Cleveland Institute of Music Distinguished Alumni Award (1993 and 2010)
- Honorary Doctorate from Tufts University (2010)
- Boston Musicians Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
- Talent Development League of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Lifetime Achievement Award (2014)
About Ann Hobson Pilot
Ann Hobson Pilot began playing harp at age 14. She graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1966, then landed a job at the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. where she was the first and only African American musician. She joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1969 at the age of 25 and became the principal harpist in 1980. She retired in 2009 after more than 40 years as a principal harpist, and John Williams wrote a concerto for solo harp and orchestra in her honor for the occasion, On Willows and Birches.
In addition to her orchestral career, Hobson Pilot has had an extensive solo career. She has played with numerous orchestras domestically and internationally, including in Europe, New Zealand, and South Africa. In 1997, she travelled to South Africa to film a documentary called "A Musical Journey," which aired on PBS nationwide for three years. The documentary was based on her performance as a soloist with the National Symphony of Johannesburg. It also included the time she spent in the country researching the roots of the harp and meeting locals who demonstrated their version of the five-string harp, called an oaci.
Hobson Pilot also taught for many years at the New England Conservatory of Music and Boston University. After her retirement from the Boston Symphony, she also retired from those faculties and affiliated with the State College of Florida and the Tanglewood Music Center. She also continued to release CDs, including a 2013 album of music by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, and to perform all over the world. In 2016, she was invited to perform at the opening of the new African American History Museum in Washington, D.C. Most recently, in 2019 she performed the Ginastera Concerto with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Orchestra.
Listen
Romance, Camille Saint-Saens, with Tai Murray, violin
On Willows and Birches, John Williams, with the Kindred Spirits Orchestra
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