William Fried

Associate Professor of the Practice in Music

Education

  • D.M.A. University of California, San Diego
  • M.M. New England Conservatory
  • B.S. Brown University

Areas of Expertise

  • Piano Instruction

Background

My work as a pianist focuses on French music and various postwar Avant Garde traditions. My other interests include electroacoustic music, collaboration with dance, and the realization of unconventional notation. A 鈥淔erneyhough pianist鈥 who 鈥減lays IRCAM stuff鈥 is how colleagues have described me.

Some concert highlights include performances at the LA Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series, Vancouver New Music Festival, Roerich Museum (NY), UC San Diego Wed@7 Series, La Giralda de l鈥橝rbo莽, and New England Conservatory鈥檚 Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice. Critics have described my playing as 鈥減oised and remarkably dexterous鈥 hypnotic鈥濃The Boston Globe, 鈥渋n possession of an incredible technique鈥濃Vancouver Classical Music, 鈥減articularly forceful鈥濃The San Diego Union Tribune, 鈥渟ubtly shaded and delicately phrased鈥濃SanDiego.com, 鈥渢ruly engrossing鈥濃I Care if you Listen, and 鈥渁we inspiring鈥濃Beacon Sound.

As a specialist in new music, I have premiered numerous new works, and recorded for Mode, Carrier, Centaur, and various independent releases. My latest solo album, featuring the complete solo piano sonatas of French composer and electroacoustic pioneer Philippe Manoury, was released earlier this year on Centaur. An earlier solo album features music of Bach, Faur茅, and Messiaen. My playing has also been featured on Universal Music Publishers Classical online, and my recordings and live performances broadcast on WDAV Classical Public Radio. 

My writing has been published in Perspectives of New Music, Piano Magazine (formerly Clavier Companion), American Music Teacher, and College Music Symposium, and my playing featured on Universal Music Publishers Classical online. I have contributed video essays and lectures to The Frances Clark Center鈥檚 From the Artist Bench series and the Lifelong Learning Collaborative鈥檚 Brown Bag Webinar Series. 

I also remain active as an interpreter of traditional repertoire, appearing as soloist with the Palomar Symphony, UC San Diego (UCSD) Chamber Orchestra, the Jordan Winds, UCSD Wind Ensemble, Hillcrest Wind Ensemble, San Diego East County Youth Orchestra, and the 糖心vlgo传媒 Symphony Orchestra, in concerti by Mozart, Beethoven, Faur茅, Rachmaninoff, Falla, Gershwin, and Hanson.

Locally, I have appeared in several productions of Charlotte鈥檚 Sensoria Festival of the Arts, including accompanying the Paul Taylor Dance company during their 2017 visit, as well as performing for local opera and dance productions at UNCC, CPCC, Winthrop, Charlotte SHOUT and other venues. During its ten-year run, I was a frequent guest at the Charlotte New Music Festival where I premiered countless new works (I also did similar work as member of resident new music ensembles at the University of California, San Diego, and the Atlantic Music Festival). I often serve as masterclass clinician and adjudicator throughout North Carolina.

My undergraduate degree was in mathematics; during subsequent graduate studies in music, I studied piano with Aleck Karis and Stephen Drury.

Teaching

MUS 050, 055, Applied Music (Non-Credit)
MUS 155, 255, 356, 357, Applied Music (Credit)
MUS 225 The Avant Garde