William Hunt is a pianist, composer, teacher and PhD candidate at the University of
Toronto. He has been performing original and improvised music and jazz in Toronto since 2016. 

A graduate of the Jazz Performance program at the University of Toronto, William is now a PhD student studying Black American music by means of literature and cultural studies as well as philosophy of music. The question, “how does one learn to improvise?” is central to William’s pedagogical and creative practices because he recognizes that the process of learning fundamentally begins with a moment of improvisation. The first time a student touches the keys of the piano, the first time a student hears Oscar Peterson or the first time a student reads through a Chopin piece —these are all moments of improvisation and should be treated accordingly.

William grew up in Pickering, Ontario where he began to play piano at the age of 6. He
continued to find inspiration and joy in the piano even after his older siblings stopped taking lessons. This joy only grew as William played piano in numerous roles (jazz bands, rock bands, choir and  instrumental accompaniments, composition) throughout secondary and post-secondary school. William graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the UofT, where he studied privately with Toronto based pianists Chris Donnelley, David Restivo and Noam Lemish.

William currently plays in a piano trio (often with the addition of saxophones and guitar) called C’est la Fête. This band has been playing regularly for over a year and has performed at venues such as The Emmet Ray, The Tranzac, Wenona Lodge, Buddies in Bad Times and Bar Orwell, among others. They hope to release a debut recording during the summer of 2024. William has been teaching piano since 2015. Some of his first lessons were given to peers in high school who were beginning to work on jazz vocabulary. Throughout his undergraduate William taught private lessons and worked at Merriam School of Music (Oakville) and Next Level Music (Pickering).

His teaching style is relaxed and yet rigorous, listening to the students’ playing beyond error and correctness for a deeper understanding of what it is to play piano. He is able to tailor lessons towards each individual students’ learning style, whether it be
visual, auditory, kinesthetic or written. William can teach Royal Conservatory of Music up to grade 9, jazz fundamentals (basic to advanced), concepts in free improvisation, and songs from popular music traditions. Book a trial lesson!