William Vann is establishing himself at the forefront of the current generation of young British accompanists. He was born and brought up in Bedford before reading law and taking up a choral scholarship at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He then studied as a pianist at the Royal Academy of Music with Malcolm Martineau and Colin Stone, graduating with distinction; in 2008 he won the Gerald Moore award for young accompanists and in October 2010 won the Great Elm Awards Accompanist Prize. He is also a past winner of the Sir Henry Richardson Scholarship, is supported by the Geoffrey Parsons Memorial Trust, was the Hodgson Fellow in piano accompaniment at the RAM for the academic year 2009-10.
Recent performances have included Schumann and Debussy songs with Samantha Malk at the 2010 Aldeburgh Festival, a Wigmore Hall debut with Samuel Evans in association with the Worshipful Company of Musicians, a Samling Foundation concert at The Sage Gateshead, the 2009 Young Songmakers concert at St John’s, Smith Square, Mahler, Schumann and Wolf Lieder at the RAM, a recital with James Gilchrist, guest performances for the Berkeley, Finzi and Gurney Societies, a celebration of the music of Judith Weir at the RAM, choral accompaniment in Lund Cathedral and Dvorak and Brahms’ chamber music with the Nephele Ensemble at St David’s, Cardiff and in the Rhyl and Carlisle festivals. Forthcoming appearances include five concerts in the 2011 London English Song Festival, recitals at St John’s, Smith Square and St Martin-in-the-Fields and a Samling Foundation recital in December at Wigmore Hall.
He has either commissioned or given the first performance of new English songs and song cycles by several English composers, including Christian Alexander, Joseph Atkins, Martin Eastwood, Johnny Herford, David Nield and Graham Ross. And has played in masterclasses given by Michael Dussek, Graham Johnson, Roger Vignoles, Julius Drake, Robin Bowman, Andrew West, Sue McCulloch, Sarah Walker, Richard Jackson, Richard Stokes, Robert Tear, and James Bowman.
He is a Samling Scholar, a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and a Young Songmaker and has been both a Britten-Pears Young Artist and the official accompanist for the Hampshire Singer of the Year Competition for three consecutive years; he also works as a coach at the Oxenfoord International Summer School and is the Director of Music at St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road. He can be found online at www.williamvann.com.
Short biography:
William Vann studied as a pianist at the Royal Academy of Music with Malcolm Martineau and Colin Stone, graduating with distinction; in 2008 he won the Gerald Moore award for young accompanists and in October 2010 won the Great Elm Awards Accompanist Prize. He is also a past winner of the Sir Henry Richardson Scholarship, is supported by the Geoffrey Parsons Memorial Trust and was the Hodgson Fellow in piano accompaniment at the RAM for the academic year 2009-10. He has performed as an accompanist at the Aldeburgh Festival, Wigmore Hall, The Sage Gateshead, St John’s, Smith Square, St George’s, Bristol and St David’s, Cardiff among many other concert venues. He is a Samling Scholar, a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, a former Britten-Pears Young Artist and Young Songmaker, a coach on the Oxenfoord International Summer School and the Director of Music at St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road.
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