William John Newbrough


Recording Musical Performances of the Finest Artists in Central New York: Renegade Classics

William John Newbrough, pianist

A veteran performer, William John Newbrough has won numerous awards at international and national piano competitions, and has been featured in solo, chamber, and concerto engagements in the United States, Canada, Australia, England, France, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Highlight venues have included Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Chateau de La Gesse near Toulouse, France, and the Van Cliburn Piano Institute in Texas. He has made five television appearances, including the acclaimed series “Grand Piano,” and his performances have also been broadcast on radio. While at Peabody, he had the great honor of winning both piano competitions hosted by the school, resulting in a season of award performances and a special commencement performance. Other awards at Peabody included the Yale Gordon Honorary Medallion in Music, as well as special prizes bestowed by the Faculty and Deans. As a recipient of multiple scholarships, he was chosen by the president of Hopkins to present a performance and interview for a major fund-raising campaign video in support of student scholarships at the university. More recently, Newbrough was the only American out of ten pianists worldwide chosen to perform at the prestigious Franz Liszt International Piano Masterclasses in Utrecht.

A native of Chicago, Newbrough has resided in such varied locales as the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, and Las Vegas. In addition to being a classical pianist, he has a great many sacred works within his active performance repertoire. At the age of only 14, Bill-John became one of the youngest performers ever to win first prize and grand prize instrumentalist at the Christian Artists’ Music Seminar in the Rockies (Estes Park, CO). He has served in many roles as church staff pianist, writer of hymn arrangements, and guest performer at churches, colleges, missionary conferences, retreats, and charity/ benefit concerts.

Along with his studio coaching, Newbrough teaches Piano Literature, Piano Ensemble, Aural Skills, Form & Analysis, and Music & Listening at Houghton. Some areas of particular interest and expertise are the genre of the Piano Etude and obscure romantic piano literature. His doctoral dissertation traced and catalogued the history of the etude, a monumental work which he is planning to eventually expand and publish as a book. Newbrough already has published articles in other fields to his credit. Other interests include hiking and a passion for aviation.