Hector J. Rodriguez is one of the most versatile horn players of his generation with an acclaimed international career in professional orchestras in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Hector frequently performs with Queen City Opera in Cincinnati, Naples Philharmonic, the Dominican Republic National Symphony Orchestra, and serves as extra horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and guest horn of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy. This fall marks the beginning of a special collaboration between Hector and Opéra National de Paris (Opéra de Paris) with key, opera performances throughout the season. 
 
Hector’s extraordinary talent has led him to win numerous prizes and competitions, and to appear in recitals around the world. His orchestral career includes positions won in top orchestras worldwide such as principal horn of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Japan, associate principal horn of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea with Myung-Whun Chung, cor solo of Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice (France) with Marco Guidarini, principal horn of the Hyogo Performing Arts Orchestra in Japan with Yutaka Sado, the Verbier Festival Orchestra of Switzerland with James Levine, guest principal horn of the Macao Orchestra in China, Pacific Music Festival in Hokkaido, Japan with Bernard Haitink, soloist with Rome Festival Orchestra in Italy, guest principal horn with Hong Kong Philharmonic under Edo De Waart, principal horn of the World Orchestra touring Scandinavia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, and Turkey, principal horn of the Royal Oman Orchestra in Muscat, Oman touring Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, guest principal horn with Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia, numerous performances with Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Ravinia Festival and international tours, and most recently, guest horn with the Detroit and Cleveland orchestras.
 
Hector studied with Gary D. Gardner, first mentor, Dale Clevenger, Daniel Gingrich, and principal brass players of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Hector served as section leader of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago under mentor Daniel Barenboim for six years, and principal horn of Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra during several summers touring all over Europe, North Africa, South America, and the Middle East including Israel and Ramallah, West Bank.
 
A 2015 Latin GRAMMY® winner with Ed Calle, Hector performs on a unique S.W. Lewis horn made for him in Chicago and supervised by mentor Dale Clevenger. Hector also performs on a modified Conn 10D, and two other custom-made horns: a Pleischl (Germany), and a rare Rauch (serial# 278) made for him in Norway, which he will be using for this performance.
 
Upcoming performances include a concert tour of Japan in 2024, opera and symphonic tours in France, Italy, Canada, and the Dominican Republic, solo performances in Valladolid, Spain, Honduras, and Portland, Oregon, concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and several orchestras around the U.S., The Symphonia, chamber music performances at the Tourtour Festival in Provence (southern France) and summer chamber tour of Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Monaco and Italy, Ravinia Festival, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony) under Andrés Orozco-Estrada in Germany, Lancaster Festival in Ohio, a new NYC-based Broadway production, Glimmerglass Festival in upstate New York, and a recording for Deutsche Grammophon with Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence.

Having started college full-time before the age of sixteen, Hector holds several advanced degrees in music and science, and currently works on specific projects for Google LLC in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Hector is fluent in several languages (polyglot), and enjoys exercising, soccer (Premier League), jogging, tinkering with his cars, cartographic sciences, languages, traveling, and trying the tastiest (and rarest) foods from around the world.