Biography:
Bill Williams is known internationally for his work as an orchestral principal trumpeter, chamber musician and soloist. He has been a featured as principal trumpet and soloist in major orchestras and festivals throughout the USA, Europe and Asia. He performed as principal trumpet of the San Francisco Symphony and is featured on a number of the orchestra’s Grammy award-winning Mahler Symphony recordings. He was also featured on the San Francisco Symphony’s PBS “Keeping Score” series. Bill currently serves as co-soloist of the Gstaad Festival Orchestra and has been a guest principal with orchestras including the Kansas City Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Tonhalle Orchestra (Zurich), the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and many others. An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with groups including the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto) and the Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, Germany.
In addition to his performing activities, Bill has focused his career on improving musicians’ lives as performers and learners. A sought-after teacher, lecturer and coach, he has presented masterclasses globally at universities and conservatories including the Shepherd School of Music at Rice
University, the Juilliard School, the Shanghai Conservatory, the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore. He is a faculty member of the Music Academy of the West and an artist/faculty member of the Menuhin Festival, Gstaad, Switzerland.
As an educator and leader, Bill served as Dean of the New World Symphony, collaborating with New World Symphony Leadership, Staff and Fellows to expand the NWS curriculum to incorporate a broader range of educational, artistic and technology-related activities. He currently serves as a consultant to music institutions on issues related to program development, innovation and social impact. Along with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, a team from Google and YouTube and industry leaders, he participated in the development of the YouTube Symphony, a global music performance and education initiative.
He is the recipient of the Bachelor of Music degree with the Performer’s Certihicate from the Eastman School of Music and the Master of Arts degree in Psychology from the New School for Social Research.
