Kia ora, I’m William.
I am a composer and music editor specialising in film, television, and concert music.
After completing my master's degree with a focus on film scoring at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington, I began my career as a composer's assistant. Since 2018, I've been freelancing as a composer and music editor, contributing to various short films, theatre shows, television programs, and feature films.
In 2023, I took on the role of composer for the television drama series Shortland Street, one of New Zealand's most-watched shows. I have now scored over four hundred episodes, as well as writing music for two feature films, High Tide Don’t High, and DEAD, as well as over thirty short films. My music has been featured in cinemas across New Zealand, at film festivals around the world, and appears five nights a week in thousands of homes around the country on television.
Outside of work in the screen industry, in 2022 I released a solo album called Portraits, and had my string quartet piece Observations I & II played and recorded by members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, I was commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company to write the music for their ballet “Dazzlehands!” based on the New Zealand children’s book of the same name. While my work “Etaoin for Soprano Soloist & Choir” was the 2024 winner of the ‘Compose Aotearoa!’ competition.
I'm an active member of CANZ and SOUNZ, and I serve as a committee member and secretary of the Screen Music & Sound Guild of New Zealand.
Based in Wellington, the filmmaking capital of New Zealand, I operate from my home studio, fuelled by the creative vibes of the city and with a fresh pot of coffee on my desk.
In The Media
Interview on RNZ
Interview in The Post
Article in The Listener
Interview on RNZ
Interview in Post by Stuff
Article on the Scoop
Article in The Post
Recommending music on RNZ
Article for 48 Hour Film Festival
Awards & Scholarships
Open Category Winner - ‘Compose Aotearoa!’ National Choral Composition Competition for ‘Etaoin for Soprano Soloist & Choir’ | Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand |2024
48Hour Film Festival - Best Original Score/Song - National Winner | 2024
48Hour Film Festival - Best Original Score/Song - Wellington City | 2024
APRA Professional Development Award|2022
Chamber Music New Zealand - Selected Composer - Composer Woodshed Series|2022
Victoria University of Wellington - Masters of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) Scholarship|2018
Susan Rhind Award in Composition|2017