William Cole

William Cole is rapidly emerging as a confident interpreter of music from baroque opera to works by today’s leading composers.

Notable recent and future performances include Albert Herring (Scottish Opera), the ROH’s production of Philip Venables’s 4.48 Psychosis (Prototype Festival, New York), and Hans Abrahamsen’s Schnee (Royal Northern Sinfonia). He has a particularly close relationship with the Britten Sinfonia, with whom he has appeared several times in concert. His collaborative instincts have led to a natural musical home in the opera house, where he has worked for companies including the ROH, ENO, Opera North, and the Glyndebourne, Garsington and Aldeburgh Festivals. He enjoys a growing reputation as an exponent of contemporary music.

Recognised for his ‘precise direction’ (The Times), his training as a composer allows him to bring insight and authority to the most complex scores. His repertoire includes major works by Ligeti, Boulez and Grisey, alongside music by today’s most exciting composers. His interest in early opera has grown since conducting Purcell’s The Fairy Queen (Waterperry Opera Festival), and he has enjoyed engagements as a harpsichordist with ensembles including the OAE, English Concert and La Nuova Musica, and collaborations with conductors including Laurence Cummings, Harry Bicket and Nicholas McGegan. He studied at Clare College, Cambridge, and the Royal Academy of Music. He furthered his studies at Birmingham Contemporary Music Group’s NEXT programme and the Conducting Seminar at Tanglewood.