William Whitehead (organist)
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William Whitehead (born 23 March 1970) is an English concert organist. Born in Billericay at St Andrew's Centre Hospital, Essex. His father was the late Dr Peter Whitehead, a Pathologist at Billericay. William was trained through the Oxbridge and Cathedral route. One of his recordings, Dances of Life and Death (released by Chandos Records) was awarded a Diapason Découverte in Diapason Magazine.{{cite magazine |date=February 2008 |title=William Whitehead - concert organist |url=http://www.thediapason.com/sites/thediapason/files/February08FullIssue.pdf |page=1|magazine=Diapason |publisher= Mondadori |access-date=7 January 2022}} He is currently{{when|date=April 2025}} Associate Organist of Lincoln's Inn in London. He is curator of the Orgelbüchlein Project, an international collaboration to complete Bach's Little Organ Book.{{Cite web |title=Orgelbüchlein Project |url=http://www.orgelbuechlein.co.uk/|website=Orgelbuechlein.co.uk |access-date=2020-05-12}} He teaches organ scholars at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Training
Whitehead was a pupil at Taunton School.{{cite web |title=Old Tauntonian Review |url=https://taunton.web-intouch.com/StaticFiles/TauntonWIT_0000000452.pdf |website=Taunton.web |page=3|date=April 2013|access-date=7 January 2022}} After a period of study at Hereford Cathedral, he took up a place at University College, Oxford as Organ Scholar. This was followed by a year's study at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the same time he held the position of Organ Scholar of Westminster Abbey.{{cite web |title=Organ Music and Education in Britain |url=https://www.voxhumanajournal.com/whitehead2020.html |website=www.voxhumanajournal.com |access-date=7 January 2022}}
Career
His first appointment after study was as Assistant Organist of Rochester Cathedral where he was an inaugural director of the new girls' choir. Subsequent appointments were as an Academic Studies Lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music and as Director of Music at St Mary's, Bourne Street.{{cite web |title=NYC Chapter AGO Programs & Events - 2010-11 |url=http://www.nycago.org/html/Programs1011.html |website=www.nycago.org |access-date=7 January 2022}}
Whitehead co-directed the London Organ Forum with Ann Elise Smoot.{{cite web |title=RCO London Organ Forum |url=https://www.rco.org.uk/news_displaystory.php?newsid=119 |website=rco.org.uk |access-date=7 January 2022}} He was a Professor of Organ at Trinity College of Music in London, and examines for the Royal College of Organists. He is a solo organist and also plays continuo with groups such as the Gabrieli Consort,{{cite web |title=Bach Live stream starts at 8:00PM |url=https://wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/gabrieli-consort-players-202112101930 |website=Wigmore Hall |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}} Instruments of Time and Truth, Dunedin Consort and The Academy of Ancient Music. He appeared as a solo organist in the 2017 BBC Proms{{cite news |title=Proms 2017: Our writers pick their highlights of the coming season |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/jul/13/bbc-proms-preview-2017-highlights-royal-albert-hall |access-date=7 January 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=13 July 2017 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Prom 47: Bach's 'Little Organ Book' past and present |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ehfmbp |website=BBC Music Events |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}} and at the Royal Festival Hall in 2018.{{cite web |title=William Whitehead at Royal Festival Hall organ - The Classical Source |url=https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/william-whitehead-at-royal-festival-hall-organ/ |website=classical source |access-date=7 January 2022 |date=24 April 2018}}
References
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External links
- [http://www.william-whitehead.com Personal website]
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Category:English classical organists
Category:Alumni of University College, Oxford
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
Category:People educated at Taunton School
Category:21st-century British organists