Svoboda named 2020 Alumni Master for Hixson-Lied College

calendar icon27 Mar 2020    

Lincoln, Neb.--University of Nebraska–Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music alumnus Richard Svoboda (B.M.E. 1978) is one of nine alumni named to the 2020 class of Alumni Masters by the Nebraska Alumni Association. 

The Alumni Masters were to be recognized on campus during Alumni Masters Week from April 1-3 and at the Nebraska Medallion Dinner on April 3; however, both events have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alumni Masters will be given the chance to accept their honors when the events are rescheduled. 

Svoboda is the principal bassoonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, both positions he has held since 1989.  He is on the faculties of the New England Conservatory, Tanglewood Music Center and Sarasota Music Festival, and has given master classes throughout the world.  Prior to his appointment to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he performed for 10 seasons as principal bassoonist of the Jacksonville (Florida) Symphony.

In a 2018 profile of Svoboda in our Hixson-Lied College supplemental publication on alumni, Svoboda said: “I am basically living a dream, doing what I always wanted to do, but at a level that is truly rewarding in every way,” he said. “But also it’s just the people and the conductors and the performances and being in an environment where excellence matters and is evidenced by everything and everyone that you see on stage and offstage. It’s just a different place.”