William Bennett (4)

Principal Oboist of the San Francisco Symphony and occupant of the Edo de Waart Chair from 1987 until 2013. born May 31, 1956, in New Haven, Conn. died February 28, 2013, after having collapsed five days earlier onstage at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco while performing Richard Strauss' Oboe Concerto. After studying oboe with Robert Bloom at Yale University and the Juilliard School of Music, William Bennett joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1979 as Assistant Principal to Marc Lifschey, becoming Principal in 1987. Highlights of Mr. Bennett's quarter century plus in the orchestra include more than fifty recordings under three music directors, critically acclaimed performances of the major solo repertoire, and the commission and recording of an Oboe Concerto by John Harbison.