Born in North Carolina, Billy began playing guitar at 8 years old. He was a self-taught musician until entering the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971. While there, he studied guitar, composition and ear-training. He also began to teach (under the guidance of David Barison) as a guitar instructor for the Music Department in his sophomore year. He has continued teaching guitar at UNC-CH as a faculty member of the Music Department since his graduation in 1975.
In that same year, he began a private studio and life as a freelance performer. He has studied both classic guitar technique (Master-classes with Jesus Silva, Pepe Romero, Elliot Fisk, Manuel Barreuco) and improvisation (Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie) since the early 70's. He also studied composition with Dr. Roger Hannay as well as attending composition seminars with John Duarte and Leo Brouwer. Although primarily a classical guitarist, Billy has developed his own style of composition and improvisation in venues ranging from solo concerts to Jazz and Nuevo Flamenco ensembles. Several of his pieces have been used to accompany documentaries and film.
