About
Andy Radford
Andrew Radford, Music Director of the Santa Barbara
Youth Symphony since 2004, is also the Principal Bassoonist
of the Santa Barbara Symphony and the California Philharmonic
and is the Education Coordinator for the Ojai Music
Festival. Radford was born in Berkeley, CA and moved
south to attend the California Institute of the Arts.
His musical education continued with performances at
the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen and Spoleto
Music Festivals and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestral Training Program. Radford played for two
years in Germany as the Solo Bassoonist of the Hofer
Symfoniker, an orchestra in Bavaria .
As a freelance bassoonist, Radford has
played with virtually every orchestra in Southern California,
including the LA Chamber Orchestra, the LA Philharmonic,
LA Music Center Opera, Pasadena Symphony, New West Symphony,
Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra as well as the Grammy
orchestra. Active in the recording studios since 1984,
Radford has played in over 300 film scores. Notable
among them are Forrest Gump, George of
the Jungle, Back to the Future, Last
of the Mohicans, Clear and Present Danger,
The Negotiator, Bad Santa, The Incredibles,
Mission Impossible III and August Rush.
Radford has performed with Long Beach
Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Las Angeles Chamber Orchestra,
LA Music Center Opera, LA Master Chorale, Long Beach
Opera, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony,
San Francisco Opera, Las Vegas Symphony, Riverside Symphony,
Santa Monica Symphony, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey
Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ojai Music Festival,
Opera Santa Barbara, California Opera Theatre, San Bernadino
Symphony, Valley Symphony, Mammoth Music Festival, Redlands
Symphony, Crested Butte Music Festival. Radford has
soloed with orchestras in Germany and America and in
2005 performed the Mozart Bassoon Concerto with the
Santa Barbara Symphony.
Other notable appearances have been
at the Monterey Jazz Festival, as a winner at the Coleman
Chamber Music Competition and with the Who, the Three
Tenors, the Moody Blues, Josh Groban, Michael Crawford
and Three Dog Night. In 2005, Radford recorded on CDs
for Neil Diamond and the Dixie Chicks. Radford played
in over 700 performances of the original LA production
of Phantom of the Opera and has played in Broadway
productions of Carousel, Miss Saigon, Beauty and
the Beast and La Bohème.
Currently he is professor of Bassoon
at the University of California , Santa Barbara , a
post previously held at Occidental College and CSU Fullerton,
Radford was active for many years in the LA Philharmonic's
in-school, Woodwind program. In recent years Radford
has helped design and teach the BRAVO! program for the
Ojai Music Festival.
He has been a very active participant
in the Santa Barbara Symphony's Education programs including
the Music Van, Can You Draw Music? and several special
performances with former Music Director, Gisèle
Ben-Dor.
In 2001, along with his wife, Santa
Barbara Symphony Violinist Amy Hagen, Radford started
the Ojai Youth Symphony. This non-profit now serves
Ventura County with three performing ensembles and over
one hundred young musicians. |