Henry (Hank) Nowak (1931-2025)

Henry (Hank) Julius Nowak, 94, a trumpeter and a member of Local 802 for almost 65 years, died on Dec. 29, 2025.

After earning a Master of Music at the Manhattan School of Music in 1952, and completing postgraduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich in 1955, Mr. Nowak became the Solo Principal Trumpet of Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra in 1958.  He resigned in 1962 to tour to the Soviet Union as First Trumpet with the Robert Shaw Choral and Orchestra. Thereafter he freelanced in New York City where he played the last couple of concerts of the Symphony of the Air, Toscanini’s former NBC Orchestra, and became Solo Principal Trumpet of the Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center, which was later renamed the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.

In 1965, Mr. Nowak went to work for Pablo Casals in Puerto Rico as Solo Principal Trumpet of Orchestra Sinfonica de Puerto Rico, Casals Festival and Conservatorio de Musica, all part of Festival Casals Inc. He performed under Pablo Casals at the Marlboro Music Festival for a number of summers beginning in 1965. Highlights during this time include performances as the Solo First Trumpet on the recordings of the Bach Orchestral Suites, plus the recordings of Beethoven symphonies and works of Brahms, Mendelssohn, and more, for Columbia Records.

In the 1970-71 season he took a sabbatical and was Solo Principal Trumpet of the Zagrebacka Philharmonic, Zagreb, Yugoslavia, after previously touring Europe with the orchestra. While in Zagreb, he recorded the Brandenburg Concerto with Solisti di Zagreb.

After performing at Casals’ funeral, he was awarded a lifetime contract with the RAI TV-Radio Orchestra Sinfonica of Rome, Italy in 1973, and stayed for four seasons playing under preeminent conductors of the era, including Bernstein, Maazel, Giulini, Muti, and Böhm.

In 1977 he joined the American Ballet Theatre as Principal Trumpet and remained for 28 seasons until he was terminated in 2005 at the age of 74. In 2007 a lawsuit filed on his behalf by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged the ABT with violating the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA). Not only was the case successful, it became an influential case that entered American case law in the field of age discrimination.

In 1979 he joined the Brooklyn Philharmonic for one season where he played alongside a young Wynton Marsalis, who was just 18 at the time.

In 1984, Mr. Nowak became Solo Principal Trumpet of the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s he taught privately, conducted master classes on brass performance and conducting, and was a guest conductor of leading orchestras and academies in Vietnam, Thailand and India.

Over the years, he taught generations of brass musicians, many of which went on to pursue highly successful careers. His students included Luis “Perico” Ortiz, renowned salsa musician, composer, and producer, Chong Pak Fu (Jacobus) who went on to play principal trumpet for the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, South Korea, and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Lertkiat Chongjirajitra, principal trumpet of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and Siam Philharmonic in Thailand.

In 2000, he returned to New York City and shortly thereafter completed two innovative books on conducting and phrasing that he co-wrote with his brother, Jerry Nowak (1936-2015): “Conducting the Music, Not the Musicians” (Carl Fischer, 2002); and “The Art of Expressive Playing” (Carl Fischer, 2004). While in Hong Kong, he had also authored a series of articles on music and culture published in the South China Morning Post.

Mr. Nowak also contributed to Local 802’s Allegro magazine through plentiful letters to the editor.

Mr. Nowak is survived by his wife, Jung, and his sister, Annette Dulaney, and predeceased by his first wife Constance (Connie). He is also survived by two sons by his first wife, Giles and Justin, and two granddaughters.