William
Duffy

William Duffy is a California-born, Montréal-based countertenor soloist and ensemble singer praised for his “command of the seemingly impossible high tessitura” (South Florida Classical Review). William first encountered music as a young Suzuki violinist, often facing admonishment for improvising new endings to classic repertoire. William’s appetite for variation keeps him exploring the extremes of his musical voice, finding him at various times performing jazz, Gregorian chant and music of the renaissance, baroque, and today. 

His recent performance highlights include a new album DISTANCE (ATMA Classique) with The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul; “Negro Spirituals”, a lecture-recital given by conductor Floydd Ricketts of newly-founded Ensemble Noir, whose mandate is to illuminate choral works written by or about people of colour; staged operas Les Plaisirs de Versailles and Actéon with Clavecin en Concert; Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday with Seraphic Fire; and performances of J.S Bach’s cantatas, Trauerode, and the B-minor mass with the American Bach Soloists Academy. 

William’s other notable endeavours include recording Alessandro Scarlatti for award-winning filmmaker Micheline Lanctôt and performing Songs of Unrequited Love written for countertenor, horn, and harp by esteemed Canadian composer Donald Patriquin. William also sings weekly at The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montréal, where he has performed various works by contemporary composers, including: David Lang's Little Match Girl Passion, Gregory Spears’s completion of the Mozart Requiem, Robert Koolstra's Bach Markus-Passion reconstruction, and Arvo Pärt's Passio. William is a member of the chorus of the Montréal Symphony Orchestra. 

During the 2020-21 ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic, William was fortunate to continue making music, both in-person and virtually, with Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, The Thirteen, Seraphic Fire, Ensemble Noir, I Musici de Montréal, and Ensemble Vocal-Arts Québec. The 2021-22 season will see William on stage in several venues across Québec for an “urban pilgrimage” concert-installation of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles with Voces Boreales; with Les Plaisirs du Clavecin for the world premiere of Nanumissuat - Île-Tonnerre, by Innu poet Natasha Kanapé Fontaine and Montréal composer Alexandre David; and performing J.S. Bach’s Easter and Ascension Oratorios with Ensemble Caprice.

William holds degrees in vocal performance (California State University, Chico) and choral conducting (McGill University).
 

Schedule

William sings in services every Sunday at 11 AM at The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, corner of Redpath and Sherbrooke in Montréal, September through May.

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Click here for a list of past performances.

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