William Perry

William is a creative and engaging piano teacher with a passion for all types of music and styles. His 10 years of teaching experience have given him the opportunity to work with a wide range of students with different interests, abilities and objectives. He focuses on developing personalized lesson content and structure that inspires students to push themselves to achieve their musical goals.

William started teaching at the Cuchetti School of Music in Edgewater, Florida, where he also developed and led the piano program for their scholarship students. At Florida State University he was a graduate teaching assistant, teaching private lessons and group classes. After graduation, he taught for two years at New Tampa Piano and Pedagogy Academy, where many of his students received high honors in Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations. He has been an active member of Music Teachers National Association, frequently presenting his pedagogical research at conferences, founding two student chapters, running the Young Artist division of the Florida MTNA competitions and serving as president of Mid-State Music Teachers Association.

After a classmate brought a keyboard to his elementary school show-and-tell, William became immediately interested in piano. Since then, his piano studies have led him to degrees from Stetson University, as a student of Michael Rickman and Florida State University, as a student of Joel Hastings. Music has brought William to many different parts of the world to study under great teachers and performers. On three occasions, William traveled to France to study at the summer music festival ‘Music at Ambialet’. William also participated in the Dublin International Piano Festival in Ireland, the Prague Piano Festival in Czech Republic, the Orfeo Music Festival in Italy, the Aloha International Piano Festival in Hawaii, and the Portland International Piano Festival in Oregon. 

William has received numerous awards for his performances including 1st Place in the 2015 Competitive Festival at Florida State University, playing the music of J.S. Bach. Previous awards include the Gladys Strong Award, prize winner at the Trula Whelan Concerto Competition and recipient of the William E. Duckwitz Talent Scholarship.

As a jazz musician, William has performed in a number of jazz festivals throughout Florida including the New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival, the Downtown Music Festival and the Lakeside Jazz Festival, as well as in performances at venues like the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Harris House, The Hub on Canal, Arts on Douglas and SubCentral at the Iberian Rooster. He started jazz studies with Chris Rottmayer at Daytona State College and continued studies at Stetson University as a member of its Jazz Ensemble. 

Recently, William has begun to work in popular music bands and is in demand for large productions. As an electronic keyboardist, William works on the accurate reproduction of the iconic sounds of artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Toto, Phil Collins, Steely Dan, Michael Jackson and many others. He has performed as a band member for live album shows for The Beatles’ White Album and Abbey Road as well as The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers. Recently, he performed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach, as a member of The Magnificent 12, recreating the music of the “Yacht Rock” era. During that show, he performed Key Largo, with the composer, Bertie Higgins. William also recorded the keyboard parts at Solar Studio in Orlando, for We Are The World 2019, which has surpassed 250,000 views on YouTube.

Each student has distinct goals, schedules and learning methods. No two students are alike. Online piano lessons with William incorporate each student's own personality and musical preferences into their long-term plans. Whether you are a beginning or advanced student, interested in classical, or pop music, or looking for broad coaching in other musical skills like performing, playing by ear, composing or improvising, you'll get a program that best suits your needs and your goals.

While the specifics of each lesson depend on your needs and objectives, lessons will always cover a wide range of topics including: note-reading, good technique, ear training, composition, improvisation, performance and recording, as well as general music history and theory. These fundamentals will give you a better understanding of music at the piano and by incorporating a wide range of skills into your daily practice you'll learn at a faster pace and learn music more fully and completely.