William Purvis pursues a multifaceted career both in the U.S. and
abroad as horn soloist, chamber musician, and educator. A passionate
advocate of new music, he has participated in numerous premieres
including horn concerti by Peter Lieberson, Bayan Northcott, Krzysztof
Penderecki (New York premiere), and Paul Lansky; horn trios by Poul
Ruders and Paul Lansky; Sonate en Forme de Préludes by Steven Stucky;
and recent premieres by Elliott Carter, Retracing II for Solo Horn and
Nine by Five with the New York Woodwind Quintet.
William is a member of the New York Woodwind Quintet, the Yale Brass
Trio, and the Triton Horn Trio, and is an emeritus member of the Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He has been a
frequent guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
and the Boston Chamber Music Society, and has collaborated with many of
the world’s most esteemed string quartets, including the Brentano,
Juilliard, Tokyo, Orion, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Daedalus, and Fine Arts
string quartets. Recent Festival appearances have included the Chamber
Music Northwest, Sarasota, Norfolk, Sebago-Long Lake, Chestnut Hill
Concerts and Phoenix chamber music festivals in the U.S., the Great
Mountain, Busan and Gimhae chamber music festivals in South Korea and
the Kitakaruizawa Festival in Japan.
William has participated in performances on historical instruments with
the Smithsonian Chamber Players, and a recording of the Quintets for
Piano and Winds by Mozart and Beethoven will be released in 2022. He has
recorded extensively on numerous labels including Deutsche Grammophon,
Sony Classical, Naxos, Koch, and Bridge. He is currently Professor in
the Practice of Horn and Chamber Music at the Yale School of Music,
where he is also Coordinator of Winds and Brass, and serves as Director
of the Morris Steinert Collection of Musical Instruments. He has
performed at the Festival since 2000.
[2023]