William Bennett (flautist)

William Bennett, OBE, Hon RAM, professor, is a British flute player (born on 7 February 1936 in London to parents who were both architects).

His playing is distinguished by his wide repertoire (baroque to through classical and romantic to contemporary). His playing is also distinguished by his wide range of tone colours, which he developed through his association with the guitar and his wish to emulate the changing colours used by the guitarist Julian Bream. He also studied composition at music college, having already written a sonatina for flute and piano whilst at school, and then a concerto for flute, clarinet and strings before he was 18. His compositional skills have aided him in writing numerous realisations of continuo parts, in composing several cadenzas for classical concertos, (which can be heard on his recordings), and in making many arrangements for the flute of important pieces which were originally written for other instruments.

He boarded at Beltane School until he was 16, starting his school life as a seven-year-old during the Second World War. He started playing the recorder at the age of 8 and the flute at 12. He studied the flute in London with Geoffrey Gilbert from the age of 15 and went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama a year later. Instead of doing two years of compulsory national military service after the war, he chose instead to serve three years in the Scots Guards band, which allowed him to continue his studies at the Guildhall School of Music. He went to Paris on a French government scholarship at 21, where he had lessons with Fernand Caratgé and Jean-Pierre Rampal. Later he studied with Marcel Moyse.

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