Friendship & Faith

Violinist William Shaub was appointed Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in May of 2017. Since his concerto debut with the Canton Symphony Orchestra at age 12, he has captivated audiences as a soloist, in recitals, and from the concertmaster chair. The winner of an inaugural Academy Fellowship with the New York Philharmonic and a graduate of the Juilliard School, he has been praised in the press as “a wonderful ambassador for music” (Cleveland Classical) and for performances "full of passion and energy, exquisitely rendered with refined details that escape one in recordings." He made his recital debut in New York as one of ten "Exceptional Young Artists" at the 2013 Starling-DeLay Symposium at Juilliard. 

In demand around the world as an orchestral leader, William Shaub has served as Guest Concertmaster of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (U.K.), the Phoenix Symphony, the Jacksonville Symphony, and as concertmaster of renowned festival orchestras, including Spoleto and the Music Academy of the West. In 2023, he served an extended period as Guest Concertmaster of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, leading the NZSO on tours in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. He has worked with many of the world’s most important conductors, with notable performances under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, Alan Gilbert, Xian Zhang, and Nicholas Collon. 

William Shaub's concerto appearances include performances with the orchestras of Brevard, Oak Ridge, Canton, Breckenridge, and in venues such as Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Canada’s National Arts Centre, Seoul Arts Center, and Sanders Theatre at Harvard. He made his concerto debut as Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 2019 under the baton of conductor Mei-Ann Chen, performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. His solo performances of a vast repertoire for violin and orchestra have been heard on NPR Classical, Radio New Zealand, PBS, and BBC Radio 3.

His passionate commitment to chamber music includes performances at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Da Camera of Houston, and the Focus! Festival for contemporary music at Juilliard. He has performed at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with members of the New York Philharmonic and enjoys collaborations with esteemed artists such as Jennifer Higdon, Robert Levin, Jon Kimura Parker, and Vadim Repin. He has also toured internationally as a member of the acclaimed chamber ensemble Sejong Soloists. 

Born in 1992 in Canton, Ohio, William Shaub was a scholarship student at the Juilliard School, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees under the mentorship of Cho-Liang Lin and Masao Kawasaki. His formative influence was Emilio Llinas, his primary teacher. Other significant musical influences were Stephen Clapp, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Pinchas Zukerman. Prior to his appointment as concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, he pursued an Artist Diploma at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

He performs on a violin made by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, from 1865.