William Whitehead
concert organist
08/09 Season
American Debut Tour Periods
2008: October 19 through November 2
2009: March 8 through 22
"England seems to have a knack of developing young organists who become quickly proficient in the French literature. I hope to hear more from this excellent talent." (American Record Guide)
"Whitehead's compelling playing represents advocacy of a high order."
(BBC Music Magazine)
"Whitehead plays with clarity and authority...rhythmically incisive playing."
(MusicWeb International)
The acclaimed young English organist William Whitehead is Organ Professor at Trinity College of Music and Music director at St. Mary's Church, Bourne Street, both in London. Previous positions included seven years teaching at the Royal Academy of Music in London, service on the music staff of Westminster Abbey and later of Rochester Cathedral, and assisting John Eliot Gardiner with the famed Monteverdi Choir.
He won first prize at the Odense International Organ Competition in Denmark in 2004, and holds many other awards and honors. He has performed in South Africa, France, Denmark Russia, Scotland, as well as extensively in England at major venues and festivals including those in Litchfield, Cheltenham, and Hampstead and Highgate.
He is a graduate of University College, Oxford, where he was Organ Scholar, and of the Royal Academy of Music, with a further graduate degree from King's College London. Organ teachers have included Dame Gillian Weir, Naji Hakim, David Sanger, David Hill, James O'Donnell, and David Titterington.
His seventh compact disc release, "Dances of Life and Death" on the Chandos label, won Five Stars from the magazine BBC Music, the Diapason Découverte award in France, and was his first entirely solo recording. His next solo CD was released by Herald late in 2007 and coincided with a feature article on the organist in the international journal Choir & Organ.
