Bill Platt

William Platt is a graduate of The Eastman School of Music where he was a student of William G. Street. He recently retired from his long-standing position as Principal Percussionist of the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops, where he performed in several tours of the US, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and Europe. He has appeared in over 100 recordings, many as a featured soloist. Before joining Cincinnati, Bill played in the U.S. Army Band in Washington, D.C. and the symphony orchestras of Rochester, N.Y. and Richmond, VA.
Bill has been a faculty member at Ohio University and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has taught masterclasses and as an interim instructor at the University of Southern California. He was on the PAS Board of Advisors from 2014-2020, along with the PAS Symphonic Committee from 2011-2017, and was a performing member of the acclaimed PAS Symphonic Emeritus Percussion Section for PASIC 2015.
In his long career with the Cincinnati Symphony, Platt, who is equally at home in a wide variety of music, was the featured soloist for the Orchestra's world premiere performances of Frank Proto's Concertino for Percussion and Strings - and also on the premiere recording of the work for Red Mark Records. He was one of the featured soloists for Proto's The New Seasons - Sinfonia Concertante for Tuba, Percussion, Flutes and Strings and Three Pieces for Percussion and Orchestra. He also was the solo drummer in the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra's recording of Proto's A Portrait of George.
He has performed and recorded extensively with double bass virtuoso François Rabbath, including the world premiere recordings of Proto's Concerto No. 2 for Double Bass and Orchestra (solo drummer) Carmen Fantasy for Double Bass and Orchestra (solo percussion) and Fantasy for Double Bass and Orchestra (solo dombec).