William Bullock

William Bullock is an enthusiastic multi-instrument musician from Richmond, Virginia. In the fall of 2022, he will be attending SMU seeking a double major in Business and Organ Performance in the Meadows School of Music. The recipient of an artistic music scholarship, Bullock will be studying under renowned German organist, Stefan Engels, on a 3681 pipe Fisk Opus 101 organ.

Music has been his passion since age five, beginning with piano and adding violin and saxophone before middle school. Listening to organ music every Sunday sparked his interest and desire to learn the organ. Bullock is heavily involved in an instrumental ensemble, youth bells, youth choir and youth ministry at church. He is also a member of the adult handbell choir, The Reveille Ringers, playing for others around Richmond on a large set of seven handbells. As a member of the Collegiate orchestra (violin), jazz band (piano) and Trif3cta violin trio, he has had multiple performance opportunities throughout the years including musical pit for Chicago, concerts, jazz festivals, weddings, private parties and even occasional bookings at a local jazz club. He has performed in the Central and Senior Regional Orchestras for three years, as well as playing by invitation in the University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2019, Bullock joined and traveled abroad with Greenspring International Music Academy on the Queen Mary 2 to London as the entertainment on the ship, playing piano and chamber music for the guests.

Bullock is the recipient of an American Guild of Organists (AGO) scholarship to study organ for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years, studying with Patricia Shrock. Attracted to the complexity and power of the organ, he has enjoyed taking on its many challenges. Bullock studies violin with Helen Coulson and has been studying piano with Gabriella Ryan since the age of five. In March 2021, he performed at the Contemporary Music Festival at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). One of his favorite hobbies is sitting down at the piano to play and practice. At home his family may hear Bach, Debussy and Chopin, before a change to improvised youth choir anthems or excerpts from his favorite musicals, including Wicked and Jesus Christ Superstar. As a member of the Trif3cta violin trio, Bullock and his fellow violin partners were first-place winners in the 2020 American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition. After a delay for COVID, they are scheduled to perform in a winner’s recital at Carnegie Hall in summer of 2022.

When he is not in front of an instrument, he can be found playing baseball or tennis with friends and teammates. As a collaborative artist, Bullock enjoys creating music and working with a variety of styles, but the organ stands out for him. When asked why he chose the organ, Bullock said, “I believe majoring in organ is special because when you practice the piano or violin, you are always hearing the same timbre, but with the organ, you have the ability to

build an entire ensemble of orchestral instruments.”