William Joseph Schwartz III better known as William Joseph, is an American pianist and recording artist from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. He has released three studio albums: ''Within'' (2004), ''Beyond'' (2008) and ''Be Still'' (2012).

Life and career

At age 8 Joseph won a full music scholarship provided by the

Boys Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, h ...

, enabling him to study piano with Russian pianist

Stella Saperstein Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Comedy *Stella (comedy group), a comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain Characters * Stella (given name), including a list of characters with t ...

.Terauds, John (October 30, 2008). "Young pianist follows in famous fingertips: William Joseph lucky to get Stella Saperstein and David Foster as mentors", ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', p. E4. Joseph is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. He was the first teacher hired by Piano Warehouse in

and taught for the company Arizona Music Lessons, later renamed the Arizona Music Academy, for which he still performs short teaching periods. In 2003, Joseph performed at a charity event in his hometown and bumped into

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

, for whom he played. Foster was impressed, and they began collaborating, eventually writing several songs together that would appear on 2004's ''

Within Within may refer to: * ''Within'' (William Joseph album) (2004), by pianist William Joseph * ''Within'' (Embraced album) (2000), by Swedish melodic black metal band Embraced * Within (company), a virtual reality content and technology company ba ...

'', Joseph's major-label debut. By this time, Joseph was signed under Foster's 143 Records, a sub-label of Reprise Records and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. In August and September 2004, Joseph opened for

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

's "Closer Tour", covering 12 cities in the US and Canada, giving 16 concerts. During November and December 2005, Joseph was the opening act for

Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...

's "Joyful Noise Tour", which covered 36 cities in the US and Canada, giving 40 concerts. 2008 saw the release of Joseph's second album '' Beyond''. In 2009, Joseph played an acoustic version of "Within" for BETA Records TV. In 2012, he released his third album ''Be Still''.Steven Kapp Perry (April 27, 2012). "'Be Still,' a new collection of hymns from William Joseph", '' Deseret News''.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official website

Uncut interview on ''The Hour''

Piano Fantasy Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, William American pop pianists American male pianists Living people Musicians from Phoenix, Arizona Warner Music Group artists Latter Day Saints from Arizona 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians 1980 births