William Bolin

• 2023 3rd Place Schmidt Vocal Competition, Orange County
• 2024 YoungArts Winner with Distinction
• 2024 YoungArts Week
• 2024 Classical Voice Division “Gold Award Winner”

A thoughtful, emotional recitalist and emerging operatic bass baritone, Will has appeared in ensemble and lead roles in productions with California Baptist University Opera Theater (Benvolio, Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette; Donizetti, L’elisir d’amore ensemble), Bravo Players Guild (Mufasa, Lion King; Maui, Disney’s Moana) and the Parnassus Society (Donizetti, La fille du Regiment chorus), all in Southern California, where he is a senior at Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA). His work was recently honored at the 2024 YoungArts week in Miami, where he participated in masterclasses and performances in the classical voice division, and he is looking forward to attending the Schmidt Vocal Institute in the summer of 2024. Also a keyboardist who relishes early and Baroque music as equally as romantic and modern song repertoire, he has a special appreciation for the works of JS Bach, in particular, the chorale preludes and the Goldberg Variations. His music instructors include his directors at OCSA, his mom and dad, Keith Hancock, Dr Andres Jaramillo, James Toland, late Met Opera principal Richard Best (who taught Will’s parents to sing), as well as the great singers of the past, whose audio and video legacies he studies with great interest.

Will lives in Southern California with his family and works as a sailing instructor during the summers.