William Cayanan

William Cayanan is a first-year Cello Fellow at the New World Symphony. Playing in orchestras from the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains, he was most recently Principal Cellist of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Principal Cellist of the Bay Philharmonic in California and Assistant Principal Cellist of the Boise Philharmonic for the past four seasons. He spent the last two summers in the cello section of the Des Moines Metro Opera orchestra and performed with the Colorado Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic.

As a conductor, William’s work has been premiered by cellist Sharon Robinson and the Left Coast Ensemble, as well as presented in master classes for John Adams and David Conte. William also makes beats, working in FL Studio and Logic Pro, and has self-produced two micro-EPs on SoundCloud.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, William enjoys a diverse career as a cellist, educator and composer. Coming from a line of public school teachers, he strongly believes in the enrichment of music in schools and is especially interested in exploring its cultural and social impact. In Colorado Springs, he was a cello sectionals coach in the District 10 Public schools, working with groups of young cellists throughout the city. Additionally, whenever in the Bay Area, he volunteers as a sectionals coach at his alma mater Berkeley High School.

William holds a master’s degree from Indiana University, where he studied with Eric Kim, and a bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), studying with Melissa Kraut and Richard Weiss. While at CIM, William also received a minor in composition, studying with Dr. Keith Fitch. At Indiana University, he continued his secondary studies with Dr. P.Q. Phan.

Apart from music, he enjoys outdoor rock climbing, backpacking, watching movies and fishing.