Ben Hoadley

Born in Auckland, Ben Hoadley holds degrees in bassoon performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the New England Conservatory in Boston. He received a Master of Music in composition with First Class Honours from the University of Waikato where he was awarded the Lilburn Composition Prize. Ben has held fellowships to the Australian National Academy of Music, Tanglewood Music Centre and the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall.

Ben lectured at the University of Auckland from 2007 to 2022. Since 2019 he has tutored at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and since 2022 at the School of Music of the Australian National University where he also serves as principal bassoonist with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. He is regularly invited to teach at institutions throughout Australasia and abroad, including residencies at the University of Louisville, Miami University, University of New Hampshire and the University of Canterbury.

Ben’s special interest in New Zealand repertoire has led to a number of collaborations and new works for bassoon. These include a collection of pieces by Gillian Whitehead which he has recorded on the Atoll CD "Arapātiki", which was a finalist in the 2014 NZ Music Awards. Ben is heard on several other Atoll CD’s including, "Southern Invention" featuring Australasian music for bassoon and piano.

Among the many concerts that Ben has presented of music by NZ composers are recitals at the International Double Reed Society Conferences in Melbourne, California and Bangkok, and an annual series in Wellington and Auckland that he curated for over a decade. Ben premiered Alex Taylor's bassoon concerto in 2014 with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, subsequently performing and recording it with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Also with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, Ben gave the Australasian premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's "Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings" in 2017.