•  NYC
     Artist Ensemble Concert Performance at the The Church of St. Paul the Apostle in NYC - 2013!!
      
     
    "We (the Canadian Guitar Quartet) were particularly very impressed by the quality and level of your ensemble, and how great of a conductor you are!  You definitely know how to translate your fantastic and inspiring energy to your students and we can feel that they're all there for you, ready to give their best.  It obviously gives a very convincing and impressive result, we still talk about it and I even talked about it to my college students, how great you and your students were."
    Patrick Roux, composer, performer, and former member of the Canadian Guitar Quartet - April '09
     
     
    "Very impressive.  These ensembles are very musical and well trained!! 
     Diane Wittry, conductor and director of the Allentown Symphony - April '12
     
     
    My name is William Hart Wells and I am the director of guitar studies at Potomac Falls High School.  This is my 19th year at PFHS (and 24th year of teaching) and I am truly excited about the possibilities this year will present.  Between getting to know a whole new group of incoming first-year students and/or Beginning Ensemble guitarists, to the Advanced and Artist Ensemble's spring trip to ORLANDO!! (more info to come), having TBD PFHS student guitarists selected for the 2023 All-State Guitar Ensemble this upcoming November, and preparations for this year's LCPS All-District Festival and District Assessment, we will hit the ground running!!  I consider it a true honor to be part of the best learning community in Loudoun County and am proud of the heights that this program has achieved in our time together.  Between the PFHS Guitar Quartet, the PFHS Guitar Club, Coffee-House, Battle of the Bands, Solo's Night Concerts, the LCPS Guitar Festival, the spring trip, the Marlow Guitar International and Aguado Guitar Competitions, and our regular concert schedule, it will surely be an action packed year! 
     
    I am originally from Kings Mountain, North Carolina.  I graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC with a Bachelor's in Music Education with a concentration in guitar pedagogy.  Upon graduation, I began my teaching career at Granite Falls Elementary School in Granite Falls, NC and directed the guitar studies program at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, NC.  In 2005, I accepted a position with Loudoun County Public Schools and began directing the guitar program at Potomac Falls High Schools.  In 2013, I completed my Master's in Music Performance at Shenandoah Conservatory.  An active performer and educator, I have performed in masterclasses with Oscar Ghiglia, Eduardo Fernandez, Stanley Yates, Grammy Award winner-Jason Vieaux, Matteo Mela, and Bruce Holzman, among many others.  I have also served as guest conductor for the Chestrfield County All-County Guitar Ensemble, the Stafford County All-County Guitar Ensemble, the Washington College Guitar Festival Ensemble, and I serve as the Festival Ensemble Conductor for the East Carolina University Summer Guitar Festival.  You can find more info on my personal website at hartwellsguitar.com.  I reside outside of Hillsboro with my wife Kelly, our daughters Kennedy and Waverly, and our two dogs, Maggie and Bowie. 
     
    Former PFHS and private students of mine have gone on to pursue music studies at a variety of notable colleges and universities, such as the Eastman School of Music, Appalachian State University, Yale University, the University of Arizona, Cleveland Institute of Music, Berklee School of Music, James Madison University, Duquesne University, Shenandoah University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Belmont University, Christopher Newport University, and George Mason University.  Current and former students have gained distinction by winning top prizes in the Aguado Guitar Competition, the Salisbury University Guitar Festival Competition, the Appalachian State University GuitarFest Competition, the East Carolina University Guitar Festival Competition, as well as the Marlow Guitar International Youth Competition.  I am also pleased to share that former students are now also music educators in Fairfax County Public Schools, Stafford County Public Schools, and... LOUDOUN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS!!
     
    I am very excited about the opportunities that we have in store for this year.  My email is William.Wells@lcps.org if you have any questions about the program.  We have some incredibly talented and gifted musicians here at PFHS and I look forward to working with them.  Check back for regular updates to the guitar webpage and the guitar calendar.  Have a great year!! 
     
     "Your ensemble was simply amazing......passionate, focused, and refined.  Excellent over-all"
     Julian Gray, Shenandoah and Peabody Conservatories - March '13
     
    "Awesome.....purely awesome"
     Dr. Douglas James, Appalachian State University, retired - April '16 
     
    "Congratulations, you can tell the Artist Ensemble has a ton of fun playing together!!  Great performance!"  
    Dr. Olga Almekina-Vera, Kithara Duo - April '23
     
     
     
     
Last Modified on August 22, 2023