William Cunningham Pianist Composer

Whoever the listener, William’s intention is to provide touching musical experiences that changes and challenges how people think and feel.

William offers listeners an audible narrative that excites the creative spirit, evokes inspiration, and brings people into the present moment – so the music can become an influencer of change and progress.

William Cunningham is a pianist and composer from Banff, Alberta, Canada. Performing frequently throughout Canada, Asia and the U. S. A. , he began playing piano and composing at the age of seven. He is self-taught and focuses primarily on improvisation and composing. His most popular pieces are: “Enchanted”, “Magic Hands”, “Orchid”, and his Poem series. William’s first album was released in 2001 “William”, followed by Temperance in 2002, Conception in 2008, and Enchanted in 2015.

William’s music style is not easy to classify and is often related to classical music, film scores and television dramas. Although he enjoys playing classical and jazz, his own compositions do not reflect such forms and have sometimes been classified vaguely as "popular".

At the age of eight, William began performing 30-minute sets at local concert venues in Western Canada and by the age 16, he was recording his compositions at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. At the age 18, he was invited by the renowned entrepreneur Jim Pattison to perform a solo concert at his year-end company meeting. In the same year, his music was presented internationally while on tour in Cuba.

William was the opening performance for pop artists Peter Frampton and Michael MacDonald in collaboration with academy award winner, Marjoe Gortner. From 2005 to 2010, he composed and performed his pieces at The Fairmont Banff Springs Celebrity Sports Invitational Fundraiser for many notable celebrities, politicians and business people, which included Robin Williams, John, F Kennedy Jr, Buzz Aldrin the first man on the moon, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Michael Douglas.

In 2005, William appeared on the Australian TV show “Mornings with Kerry Ann Kennerly”, and the reality TV show “I Do…Let’s Eat” in Canada. William performs regularly for the business events of Julie Shaw with Shaw Communication Inc. and Corus Entertainment, Nancy Southern and the late Ronald Southern of ATCO Group, and the Right Honorable Donald Mazankowski. He performs regular concerts at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, and on two occasions has performed for the current Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau. Some notable attendees of these performances have included the assistant to HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Members of the Secret Service, the Canadian and German defense ministers, the Governor General of Canada the Right Honorable David Johnston, and most recently the CEO and Chairman of IBM.

In 2008, Smithsonian artist Mimi Stuart created an ‘Energy of Subject’ portrait of ”Sir William” at the piano, which was auctioned for charity along with the portraits of musician Michael MacDonald and astronaut Buzz Aldrin. William was an actor in a National Geographic documentary and played the character of Sir. John A. MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada in a theatrical presentation.

William offers listeners an audible narrative that excites the creative spirit, evokes inspiration, and brings people into the present moment – so the music can become an influencer of change and progress.