Bill Tilley, affiliate artist, double bass
Area of expertise
double bass
Contact Information
Email: William.Tilley@uvm.eduA native Vermonter, William Tilley began playing double bass professionally at age 17 when he won an audition for the Vermont Symphony. In 1983 he was accepted at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with Roger M. Scott, former Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra . Upon graduating, he played regularly with a variety of ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet and The Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Bill has worked with the majority of the world’s leading conductors, including Sergiu Celibidache, Leonard Bernstein, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Eric Leinsdorf, Georges Pretre and Ricardo Muti.. His international career includes tours with the Philadelphia Orchestra to Europe and the Americas, the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Music Festival and the BBC Proms. In addition, he has recorded two CDs with the Philadelphia Orchestra on the EMI label.
In Vermont, Bill has played with virtually every ensemble. He continues as bass player for the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Soovin Kim, Director, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Principal Bass of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Bass of the former Vermont Mozart Festival. he is also the bass coach for the bass students of the VYO.
Bill is founder of the "Wahnfried Studio," in Charlotte, VT, which offers a wide range of musical instruction in general music appreciation and basic musical reading to coaching in historically aware performance practice and musical theory. The mission of the "Wahnfried Studio" is to generate awareness and appreciation for the great traditions of the musical past and to find joy and satisfaction in hard work, which makes substantial art possible. Some of Bill's students have been accepted at prestigious music schools such as Peabody, Eastman and Hart.