Clarinetist Catherine Hudgins began her career in Caracas, Venezuela with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Caracas, later holding positions in the Sinfonica Municipal de Caracas, the Charleston Symphony, and the Boise Philharmonic. A busy career as an orchestral and chamber musician has led her to perform throughout North America, Europe, and in South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Far East. Ms. Hudgins performs frequently as an extra player with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in Boston and at Tanglewood, as well as on international tours and at Carnegie Hall, and can be heard on recordings with the BSO, including Grammy-award-winning performance of Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, and Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony . She serves as the Eb clarinetist with the Portland (ME) Symphony, and principal clarinetist of the Plymouth Philharmonic. She has performed in the Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra in Matsumoto, Japan, and the Mito (Japan) Chamber Orchestra, all under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. Other festival appearances as an orchestral player include the Spoleto Festival and Arizona Musicfest.
She has performed with many of the world's leading conductors, including Pierre Boulez, Christoph von Dohnányi, Kurt Masur, James Levine, Alan Gilbert, Bernard Haitink, Andris Nelsons, and Seiji Ozawa. Performing in opera and ballet orchestras, she served as principal clarinetist for the National Lyric Opera for several seasons and as principal clarinetist for the 75th Anniversary Tour of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Additional opera and ballet performances include those with Seiji Ozawa's Tokyo Opera Nomori, Martha Graham Dance Company, Joffrey Ballet, and the London Festival Ballet.
As a duo-soloist, she performs with her husband, Boston Symphony clarinetist William Hudgins, most recently on Daniel Crozier’s Spirit, which was written for them and premiered with the Knoxville Symphony in 2019. Other solo appearances include duo-soloist performance with the Boston Classical Orchestra, as soloist with Assisi Performing Arts, and with the Plymouth Philharmonic in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante.
An active chamber musician, Ms. Hudgins serves as the Artistic Director and clarinetist of the West Stockbridge Chamber Players, a group that she founded in 2010. Additional chamber music concerts include performances with Ensemble Chamarré (dedicated to the performance of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time), at Assisi Performing Arts in Assisi, Italy, and the Spoleto, Piccolo Spoleto, Rockport, Saito Kinen and Scotia Festivals. Her chamber music performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, German Radio, RAI (Italian Radio), SCETV, and CBC, among others. She studied clarinet with Robert Marcellus, and lives in Boston with her husband, BSO principal clarinetist, William Hudgins.