Roderick Williams facts for kids

Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE (born in 1965) is a talented British singer, known as a baritone, and also a composer. A baritone is a male singer whose voice is in the middle range, between a tenor (higher) and a bass (lower).

Biography

Roderick Williams was born in North London. His father was Welsh, and his mother was from Jamaica.

Early Life and Education

Williams went to school at Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford. Later, he attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, which is a private school in Hertfordshire. He was a "choral scholar" at Magdalen College, Oxford. This means he received a scholarship to study there while also singing in the college choir.

After his studies, he became a music teacher. He even led the Tiffin Boys Choir, helping young singers develop their skills. When he was 28 years old, he decided to go back to school to study music more deeply. He attended the Guildhall School of Music in London.

Career Highlights

Williams first performed at The Proms in 1996. The Proms is a famous series of classical music concerts in London. He sang the part of the Royal Herald in Verdi's opera Don Carlos.

He returned to The Proms in 2013 as a main singer for Ralph Vaughan Williams' ‘A Sea Symphony’. In 2014, he performed again at the Last Night of the Proms, which is a very popular event. During this performance, he sang some songs that he had arranged himself.

Williams has also recorded many albums for music labels like Naxos and Signum. In 2006, he and the Sacconi Quartet made the first-ever recording of Gerald Finzi's song cycle By Footpath and Stile. A song cycle is a group of songs that are meant to be performed together.

Leadership and Recognition

Roderick Williams holds several important positions in the music world. He is the president of the Junior Saint James Singers. Since 2014, he has been the president of the Malvern Concert Club. He also became the president of the Three Choirs Festival Society in 2016.

In 2017, he received a special honor called an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This award was given to him in the 2017 Birthday Honours for his great contributions to music. In 2019, he became a Patron of the Birmingham Bach Choir. A patron is someone who supports an organization. In 2020, he was named President of Thames Concerts, a concert series in London. In 2022, he became a Vice-President of The Bach Choir.

Family Life

Roderick Williams is married to Miranda, and they have two daughters and one son. His wife's sister, Orpha Phelan, is a well-known stage director.

Recent Activities

In 2022, Williams became a Patron of Opera Brava. This company is known as "Britain's leading outdoor touring Opera Company." In 2023, he was chosen as one of the composers to create a brand new piece of music for the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.

Composition

Roderick Williams is also a composer, meaning he writes his own music.

Notable Compositions

In 2014, the Financial Times newspaper asked him to compose a Christmas carol. He wrote 'Christmas Bells', which used a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This carol was first performed by the Godwine Choir at St George the Martyr church in London.

In 2019, the Waynflete Singers asked him to create a choral orchestral piece based on Keats' poem To Autumn. This piece was first performed in Winchester Cathedral on October 16, 2021.