Prof. William Forman

Prof. William Forman was born in 1959 in New York City. After completing his studies at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, he moved to Europe in 1981, where he was employed as principal trumpet with various symphony and opera orchestras in Germany and Belgium until 1989. In 1986/87 Forman won prizes in international competitions in Germany and Switzerland, and in 1987 in the ”Prague Spring“ competition. Since then Forman has performed worldwide as soloist and chamber music partner, with traditional trumpet repertoire as well as premieres of new works, often specially composed for him. William Forman is one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary music for trumpet. He has worked with important composers of our time, such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Frank Zappa, Luciano Berio and György Ligeti, and has inspired younger composers to explore new ways of composing. From 1990 to 2001 Forman was a member of the Frankfurt Ensemble Modern. Nevertheless he does not consider the playing of new music to be a specialist area. He continues to be active as an orchestral trumpeter, chamber music partner, soloist with classical trumpet repertoire and with the baroque trumpet. He is a regular guest in courses for new music and directs workshops for trumpeters and composers throughout Europe. In 1994 he was appointed Professor for Trumpet at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler in Berlin.