Julius Williams
Biographical Information
Introduction:
Julius Williams is a highly accomplished composer, conductor, and music educator. He became the first African-American president of the Conductor’s Guild after a long and storied career as a conductor. He has conducted orchestras all over the United States and the world. He currently serves as the music director for the Trilogy Opera Company and is a cover conductor for the prestigious Boston Pops. Williams’ extensive career as a conductor has helped him with his career as a composer. His music has been performed by some of America’s most famous orchestras like the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra. And he has also been a composer-in residence for orchestras like the Nutmeg Opera Company in Connecticut. Williams has taught at many colleges, but he is currently a professor of composition at the Berklee School of Music.
Early Life:
Julius Williams was born in New York City in the Bronx. When he was 8 years old he started playing the drums. However, his parents begged him to choose an instrument that was slightly less loud. He ended up choosing the piano. This parent-coerced instrument change may have seemed unfair to the young Williams, but it established a healthy habit for somebody who would become a composer. Composers need to know how to play most of the instruments in the orchestra, and Williams got a great head start. He started playing the violin, flute, clarinet, and organ when he was still quite young. Williams’ interest in music really started blooming in high school. He attended NYC Public Schools throughout his childhood, and was admitted into the Performing Arts High School. During this time, he studied with famous teachers like jazz-drummer Max Roach and French composer Pierre Boulez. The young Williams was great at learning music by ear, but he struggled with reading music. He realized that if he wanted to be a composer, he would need to change that. Williams said, “people like John Motley and [Coleridge Taylor] Perkinson… I saw them on stage… doing a concert with the Symphony of the New World. And… he came out with this leather suit. And he was conducting the symphony. And I said, 'Man! This guy.’ You know. And then I saw one of his pieces… and then I heard this composition. Then I said, ‘I wanna write music, I wanna be a composer.’ In order to write music you have to be able to read music.” Williams was inspired by this performance, and was determined to pursue a career as both a conductor and composer, just like his teacher, Pierre Boulez.
Career:
Julius Williams would enroll at the Herbert Lehman College where he would earn a Bachelors degree. He would earn his Masters of Music Education at the Hartt School, where he would study with famous African American composers like Ulysses Kay and Coleridge Taylor Perkinson. Williams would then go to the Aspen School of Music in Colorado, and he would also start to compose music for theatre productions at the Henry Street Settlement in New York. These were the beginnings of Williams’ career as a composer and conductor.
Julius Williams’ dual career has been prolific. As you already know, he is a cover conductor for the Boston Pops, and the current music director of the Trilogy Opera Company. But Williams used to be the artistic director of the Washington Symphony, and he was also the director of the Music Festival of the Costa del Sol in Spain. He has conducted famous American orchestras in Dallas, Buffalo, Hartford, Akron, New Haven, Vermont, New Jersey, Oakland, Sacramento, Knoxville, Norwalk, Savannah, Paducah, Oklahoma, Dubrovnik, and also the Color of Music Orchestra. Williams’ career as a composer is equally impressive. His compositions have been published by famous companies like Carl Fischer, Alfred, and Warner Brothers. And his music has been premiered by some of America’s best orchestras like the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony.
Williams’ reputation as a composer and conductor proceeds him around the world. However, he has also had a distinguished career as a music educator. He is a professor of composition at the Berklee School, and an adjudicator for the prestigious Fullbright Scholarship, the National Endowment, and the State Arts Council. He used to be the music director for the NYSSSA Chorus and Orchestra program. And he has also been on the faculty of the University of Hartford, the University of Vermont, SUNY Purchase, and many other schools.
Resources:
Berklee College Website:
https://college.berklee.edu/faculty/julius-williams
WXXI Classical Article/Podcast:
The History Makers Biography/Interview Videos:
https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/julius-p-williams-jr
Julius P. Williams Website:
https://www.juliuspwilliams.com/about.htm
