The American violist and conductor, Hugh Partridge, studied at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida (Class of 1958). He obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Viola from Indiana University in Bloomington, where he studied with William Primrose (1960-1963); and his Masters of Music degree in Violin and Viola from Butler University in Indianapolis (1963-1966).
Hugh Partridge was Violist in Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra for 3 years (1955-1958), and violist in Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for a year (1959-1960). Upon graduation from Indiana University, he won the position of Principal Violist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (1963-1970) and joined the faculty of Butler University. In 1970 he was appointed Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at Wichita State University (1970-1976), where he organized and directed the internationally recognized Viola Collective and served as Principal Violist of the Wichita Symphony.
Hugh Partridge has taught viola at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) since 1996. He was Principal Violist with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra for 30 years (1976 -2006). Since 1988, he is also the Artistic Director of the Philharmonic Association and Conductor of the Triangle Youth Philharmonic, the official youth orchestra of the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra.
Hugh Partridge has has performed by invitation as Principal Violist in many summer music festivals including the Brevard Music Center and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and as Guest Artist with the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, the Sun River Music Festival and the New Approach Chamber Players of Sarasota, Florida.
In 2003, Hugh Partridge was the recipient of the Raleigh Medal of Arts in recognition of his “extraordinary achievement in the Arts”. In 2005 he was awarded the Maxine Swalin Outstanding Music Educator Award in recognition of his service to the community as a role model in music education, instilling a love for music in children and inspiring students to reach appropriately high musical standards.He is Married to Margaret McElrath and has two sons. He currently lives in Cary, North Carolina. |