Recognized as a distinguished interpreter of the music of J.S. Bach, which he performs during the 2026–2027 season with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Solomon’s Knot, the Netherlands Bach Society, Insula Orchestra, and La Sportelle, William Shelton also appears this season with Pygmalion, Cappella Mediterranea, the Ricercar Consort, Le Printans, and as Cupid (Venus and Adonis) with Le Banquet Céleste in Brest and at the Rennes opera, as Humana Fragilità (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria) with Opera Fuoco at Massy opera, and as Ottone ( L’Incoronazione di Poppea ) at the Théâtre national du Capitole de Toulouse, before touring Europe with Ensemble I Gemelli.

He also performs Une vénitienne à Paris, a programme recorded alongside Salomé Gasselin and Léo Brunet for the Oktav Records label.

For several years, William Shelton has been regularly invited as a soloist by French ensembles such as Pygmalion, Les Ambassadeurs, Alia Mens, L’Escadron volant de la Reine, and Le Caravansérail, as well as by international groups including Vox Luminis, Collegium Vocale Gent, Balthasar Neumann Ensemble & Chor, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Musica Getutscht, A Nocte Temporis, and Gli Angeli.

On stage, he created the role of the President in Carmen, cours d’assises , based on Bizet’s opera. He has also performed as Messaggiera ( Euridice by Caccini) with Scherzi Musicali in Brussels and Timișoara (Romania), Arsamene ( Serse by Handel) with Opera Fuoco in China (Beijing, Shenzhen, and Nanjing), and Apollo ( Psyche by Locke) with Ensemble Correspondances (Opéra de Versailles, Caen, and Théâtre d’Hardelot).

As a passionate chamber musician, he won the Duo Prize at the 2023 International French Art Song Competition in Toulouse with pianist Louis Dechambre. In 2020, he also received the Opéra Grand Avignon Prize at the Gordes Art Song Competition with pianist Bastien Dollinger; together, they were later invited to perform recitals in Avignon as part of the Apér’Opéra series and in the Jeunes Talents program at the Petit Palais in Paris. Last season, alongside theorbist Léo Brunet and gambist Salomé Gasselin, he presented Une Vénitienne à Paris in Bordeaux, a program centered around the composer Antonia Bembo, before recording it for Oktav Records.

As artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel between 2021 and 2024, he has had the opportunity to receive guidance from Sophie Koch, José Van Dam, and Stéphane Degout. Previously, he was part of the first cohort of young singers at the Académie Philippe Jaroussky in 2017.

He is a laureate of several international competitions, including the Young Artist Award at the Cesti Baroque Opera Competition in Innsbruck, 2nd Prize at the Froville Baroque Singing Competition, 1st Prize at the World Bach Competition of the Boulder Bach Festival, and both the Audience Prize and the Jeunes Talents Association Prize at the Corneille Competition in Rouen (presided over by Andreas Scholl).

Since 2022, William Shelton has been represented by the RSB Artists agency.

Photo credit: Julien Benhamou