William van der Sloot

Biography

William van der Sloot is a heralded violinist and teacher whose students have earned acclaim throughout the world. A native of Alberta, Canada, he is a graduate of the University of Calgary and continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music. A onetime member of the Villa Marteau Quintet, he has toured extensively across Europe and North America.

Van der Sloot is a frequent judge of international competitions including the Wieniawski International Violin Competition, the Brahms International Chamber Music Competition, the Stradivarius International Violin Competition, and the Chengdu International Violin Competition. His students have earned top prizes in the National Music Festival, the Canadian Music Competition, the Menuhin International Violin Competition, the Stradivarius International Violin Competition, the Queen Elisabeth Competition, and the Tchaikovsky Competition, among numerous others. Many of his former students hold positions in major orchestras around the world.

In 2015, van der Sloot was named an honorary fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music for his contributions to music education in Canada and abroad. A member of the Oberlin faculty since fall 2018, he also holds teaching appointments at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Mount Royal University in Calgary.