Music Built Together
“A performance isn’t something I give to an audience. It’s an experience we build together.”
Performance with violinist Erin White at the Harvard Science Center in Cambridge, MA, for the Multiverse Concert Series.
For me, performance has never been about the spotlight. It's about what happens when music enters a space and changes the atmosphere, and when a group of individuals becomes a community.
Music's most profound work often happens not on a ticketed stage, but in the everyday moments when people need it most. My performing spans solo recitals, chamber music, collaborative piano and new music - in concert halls, community centers, schools and museums. I also lead a congregation through musical worship each week. No matter the setting, I want my audiences to feel welcomed and included.
“Music is there for everybody. It’s a river we can all put our cups into and drink it and be sustained by it.” - John Williams
Music belongs to everyone who has ever needed to feel understood, challenged, or simply more alive. Music is one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding each other. That is the experience I work toward every time I’m at the piano.
How I Think About Performance
-
Connection over perfection
My commitment to honoring the music and composer is a means to an end. Every individual listening brings life and meaning to the music, creating a living exchange.
-
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
I love working with others: musicians of all backgrounds, dancers, artists, scientists and storytellers. By exploring creative horizons together, we can integrate programming into the broader educational ecosystem.
-
Repertoire as a lens
I think of programming as its own form of storytelling. I want to curate an experience that helps us learn about a period of history, a community, an idea.
-
New Music Matters
Living composers deserve living audiences. I am committed to performing and advocating for new works alongside standard classical repertoire, including works that I create myself.
Repertoire & Range
My performing spans the standard solo and chamber literature alongside a genuine commitment to music beyond the classical tradition. I have developed advanced skills in sight-reading, improvisation, and arranging while working with gospel, jazz, film, and popular genres. By expanding my musical versatility, I can honor diverse audiences and center their experience in performance.
Solo piano · Chamber music · Collaborative piano · New & contemporary music · Gospel & sacred music · Jazz & improvisation · Film & popular genres · Vocal accompaniment · Music arranging
See some of my selected videos on YouTube
William performing during a special event at the New England Conservatory of Music for the United States Presidential Scholars Foundation.
“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.”
- Ludwig van Beethoven
Selected Performances & Venues
National Public Radio “From the Top” · Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall · Kennedy Center Millenium Stage
Trinity College Cambridge · Dickinson College · Keene State College · UMass Dartmouth · NYU · Boston University · Wheaton College · Elizabethtown College
Interharmony Music Festival, Italy · Aspen Music Festival · Southeastern Piano Festival · Bowdoin College Music Festival
Shiloh Baptist Church · Bristol Chorale · Boston Philharmonic Crescendo Music Program · Harvard Science Center · Boston Museum of Science
On Playing for New Audiences
"Some of my most memorable performances have happened where classical piano was historically missing - a school or nursing home, a community center or church, a private residence, a science museum or another unlikely venue. I have found that audiences who didn't grow up with this music often hear it with a fresh perspective and an open heart. They bring their whole selves. Those performances remind me why I do this." - William Hume
Interested in a performance?
Please share your ideas, and we can bring your vision to life for any occasion.
