Though she achieved a concert caliber by her senior year of high school, she encountered obstacles due to her race early on.
Following her graduation from the Philadelphia Girls High, she was able to attend the Maine Harp Colony, where she met pioneering woman harpist Alice Chalifoux.
[3] Hobson was selected to play as master harpist in the National Symphony Orchestra in 1966, its first black member, replacing Sylvia Meyer.
She has played at the Marlboro Festival, with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players and the contemporary music ensemble Collage, and is founder of the New England Harp Trio.
Pilot retired from her position as harpist of the Boston Symphony in 2009 ending a 40-year career in the orchestra.