M-F 9:00 - 10:00 in CA 144
Pianist William Corbett-Jones has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Singapore as recitalist, soloist with Orchestra, and in collaboration with internationally renowned colleagues. His concertizing in Europe has included recitals in most of the major capitals, including the Lausanne and Winterthur Orchestras in Switzerland, and under the direction of Kurt Masur with the Florentine Orchestra del Maggio Musicale. He has also been soloist on eight occasions with the San Francisco Symphony. Professor Corbett-Jones has performed for the BBC, Hilversum, Basel, Paris, Brussels, Lausanne, Cologne and Istanbul radios, in addition to live performances on local television and radio stations KQED and KPFA, and has appeared at festivals such as the Salzburg Chamber Music Festival and the Meiringen Festival in Switzerland.
William Corbett-Jones has been a member of three distinguished touring chamber music ensembles: the California Trio (with concertmaster Jacob Krachmalnick and principal cellist Robert Sayre of the San Francisco Symphony; The Alma Trio; and the Crown Chamber Players of the University of California at Santa Cruz. With the Alma Trio he was made Artist-in-Residence at USC.
Jones’s repertoire extends from the Baroque to the Modern. He has presented several cycles of the 32 Piano Sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert and the complete solo works of Chopin and Mozart. He has also performed the Complete Piano Chamber Music of Beethoven Brahms and Schubert, Bartok and Stravinsky, plus all the Violin and Piano Sonatas of Mozart, Bach and Grieg. With Henri Temianka and the Paganini Quartet he made four films on musical form at the USC film department, in which he performed several major chamber works, including three quintets. These films, which were funded by the Ford Foundation were shown nationally on public television. Also with Henri Temianka and the Temianka Little Symphony he performed two American tours.
On January 24 and April 6, WC-J began the cycle of the 32 Beethoven Sonatas, the proceeds of which will go to the WC-J Scholarship Fund set uop for gifted piano students. Ther next recital in this series will take place October 5. The program will be, Sonatas, Op.27 in E flat Major and C sharp Minor(Moonlight) the Sonata in A flat, Op.26 and the Appassionata, Op.57
Other performances this year included:
- Two recitals in Sebastopol (February 2 and April 20)
- Recital and masterclass at the U. of Edmonton, Canada, with J. Todorov
- Chamber music recital with Margaret Tait, cellist and Luis Baez, Member of the S.F. Symphony May 27
- Birthday recital at Old St.Mary’s Church, featuring works dedicated to WC-J by Kirke Mechem and Roger Nixon
- Member of the jury of an International Competition in June in Ohrid, Macedonia
- Lecture/recital on late Beethoven Sonatas , given as part of the Classical Pursuits Conference at St. Micael’s College, Toronto, Canada
- Two chamber music concerts as part of a Youth Chamber Music Festival held at SF State August 4 and 7. The program included the Bach and Ravel Violin Sonatas with J. Todorov , the Schubert Arpeggione Sonata with violist Don Ehrlich, and the Schumann Quintet.
Solo recitals by current and former students have included:
- Holly Bowling, Michael Avalos Award recital April 7 (also performed in Maine)
- Frances Kinney, senior recital. Ms. Kinney also won top honors in her graduating
class in the Music Department - Eric and Catherine Thompson: August 12, Recital by Vanessa Polgar at Old St.Mary’s Church in Antioch
Personal aside: On August 23 WC-J, a history buff, gave a lecture presentation on “Egypt since Napoleon” at the Fall retreat of the Northern California Great Books Club.
Professional Studies
- University of Southern California
- Juilliard School
- San Francisco Conservatory of Music
- Academia Chigiana, Siena, Italy
