Hometown:
Aurora, Ontario, Canada
Education:
University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, MMus Violin Performance 2022
McGill University, Schulich School of Music, Graduate Diploma Violin Performance 2020
McGill University, Schulich School of Music, BMus Violin Performance 2019
Canadian violinist William Thain gave his concerto debut at age 13 with the Brampton Symphony Orchestra. He received his master’s degree from University of Michigan studying with Danielle Belen, and currently holds a teaching position in the U of M precollege. William is the recipient of the 2022 Performing Arts EXCELerator Fellowship as a co-founder of the Montréal-based Ensemble Urbain, a conductorless ensemble specializing in performing works by underrepresented composers.
What is something interesting that people may not know about you?
Back in 2021 I started posting more pictures of my cooking/baking creations on Instagram and ended up getting scouted for the first season of NBC’s show Baking It! I had to say no because I was in the middle of my master’s degree, but I haven’t ruled out the possibility of going on a cooking show down the road.
Name three of your favorite composers:
Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Clarice Assad
When taking a break from music-making, what is your favorite thing to do?
I love to cook; throwing dinner parties with friends is one of my all-time favorite things to do!
What are you most looking forward to this summer with the NRO?
I’ve never been one to learn music quickly, so this is my summer to change that. My number one goal this summer is to get comfortable playing in/leading a violin section with music that I’ve had to learn on the fly.