Counter William Shelton
The French countertenor began his musical training at the age of eight and later studied singing, horn, organ, music theory, chamber music and orchestra. In addition to this comprehensive education and an international career as a singer, the child prodigy also holds degrees in physics and chemistry.
About the artist
French counter at the start of a great career
Career
William Shelton was born in Nancy. His parents who were both members of the Opera chorus encouraged him to develop his musical potential and he won a scholarship to Salisbury Cathedral School at the age of eight. He continued his musical studies at Dole, Besançon and Dijon conservatories, where he studied singing, horn, organ, music theory, chamber music and orchestra.
He moved to Paris in 2015 after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Chemistry at the university of Besançon, a horn diploma, an organ diploma and a singing diploma with the highest distinctions. He has had the opportunity to develop his singing by participating in masterclasses with Hans Jörg Mammel, Jan Kobow, Michel Laplénie, Isabelle Druet, Robert Expert, Regina Werner, Mickaël Mardayer, Sara Mingardo, Felicity Lott, Margot Modier, Bernard Malet, Marijana Mijanovic, Kateryna Sokolova and by entering the Philippe Jaroussky Academy in 2017.
Competitions & awards
In 2018 he won the Young Artist Award at the International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera "Pietro Antonio Cesti" in Innsbruck and the 2nd prize at the Froville international baroque singing competition. The same year he was admitted into the Opera Fuoco young artists program founded by David Stern. In 2020 he won the 1st Prize at the Boulder Bach Festival “World Bach Competition”, and the Prix de l’Opéra Grand Avignon at the 12th Concours International de Mélodie de Gordes.
On stage
William Shelton takes part in projects of many renowned vocal ensembles : Les Cris de Paris, Pygmalion, Les Arts Florissants, La Compagnie la Tempête, Scherzi Musicali, La Fenice, Collegium Vocale Gent and Vox Luminis. His Bach Cantatas debut with Raphaël Pichon at the Paris Philharmonie was broadcast live on french television and was followed by a tour to Israël for the Eilat chamber music festival.
He was subsequently engaged by William Christie to sing the alto solos in the Bach B minor Mass. He also started his international career by singing Elena Langer’s Landscape with three people at the Heidelberger Frühling Festival and the Podium Esslingen. He sang the role of Messagiera in Caccini’s Euridice with Nicolas Achten’s Scherzi Musicali and toured in France (Festival de musique ancienne de Lanvellec), Belgium (Brussels) and Romania (Festivalul de muzica veche Timisoara).
In 2019 he took part in a new production of “Heptaméron, récits de la chambre obscure” created by the director Benjamin Lazar and the conductor Geoffroy Jourdain and performed all around France and Belgium singing and playing the french horn. In june 2019 he sang the role of Apollo in Matthew Locke’s “Psyche” with the Ensemble Correspondances conducted by Sébastien Daucé at the Hardelot Elizabethan Theatre. It was revived the next year in Caen and Versailles.
In october 2019 he flew to China (Beijing, Shen Zhen and Nanjing) with Opera Fuoco to sing the role of Arsamene in Serse. In march 2020 he sang Schütz’s “O Jesu, nomen dulce” with the theorbists Thibaut Roussel and Thomas Dunford and the harpist Marie-Domitille Murez, in a Praetorius program imagined by Raphaël Pichon in Bordeaux, Paris and Versailles.
