Ronald
J. Williams is an active composer, conductor and church musician.
He is currently the Director of Worship and Arts at Broomfield United
Methodist Church where he directs the Chancel Choir, Voices of
Faith, and Gabriel’s Horns, and oversees the Worship and Arts
Program. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Colorado
Repertory Singers, a community chorale based in Broomfield, Colorado.
Established in January, 2002, Williams has begun the fifth season with the
CRS.
Williams is in
his 26th year as a choral director. He is a popular choral clinician,
conducting music reading sessions for area choir directors, and maintains a
small voice studio. His popularity as a music director stems from his
infectious love of music and his mastery of the art as evidenced by the
comments of his singers. Keith Harrison states, “I want you to know how
important you have been to my musical life. It is due to you that I
developed whatever skills as a choral vocalist that I now have: skills that
have allowed me to get involved with other wonderful music experiences that
would otherwise have been inaccessible to me”
In additional
to his weekly choir, vocal and chorale commitments, he has produced and
conducted feature concerts in the Denver metro area including the
Messiah, Mozart Requiem, Beethoven Mass in C,
Brahms Requiem, Vivaldi Gloria, Rutter
Requiem, Rutter Gloria, Morten Lauridsen Lux
Aeterna, and Randall Thompson Testament of
Freedom. He has prepared choirs for the Breckenridge Music Festival
under the direction of Dr. Carl Topilow and he prepared the Colorado
Repertory Singers for a 2004 Carnegie Hall performance under the direction
of Dr. Timothy Sharp.
In 2001,
Williams created the Broomfield Festival Choir as a vehicle to unite area
singers and instrumentalists in community-wide concerts. The choir’s two
sold-out performances of the Mozart Requiem not only benefited
local Habitat for Humanity homes, but also benefited the singers: “When I
stopped singing in an organized format twenty-odd years ago, I left behind
something that I truly loved and thus created a void in my life,” stated Bob
Friedlander. “Singing under your direction has more than filled that void,
and Saturday’s performance provided me with that amazing rush that only
comes from making music … Thank you so much for a truly memorable
experience…” Williams plans to schedule the choir to perform annually, and
is currently organizing a performance of the Brahms Requiem in
September, 2006.
Williams enjoys
producing music as both director and composer. His popular Christmas anthem,
The Stable Choir, was recently performed in concert by the
prestigious Colorado Mormon Chorale. His recent work for orchestra,
Nightwinds, has been included in Volume 8 of the critically
acclaimed compact disc series, “Masterworks of the New Era,” produced by
ERMMedia (www.ermmedia.org.) Nightwinds was recorded by the
Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of award-winning,
conductor-composer Robert Ian Winstin. “As a conductor, I run across a lot
of scores that have quote – ‘something to say’ – end quote” said Winstin.
“Ron Williams is the real thing. Nightwinds is intelligently written
and - more to the point – musical. It is a work I’m delighted to conduct and
record.”
Nightwinds
was also chosen as one of two winners in the Colorado Composers Showcase.
Semper Fi Fanfare, Williams’ fanfare for brass ensemble saluting
his service in the United States Marine Corps, has been selected for Volume
10 of the “Masterworks of the New Era” series.
His latest
composition, Sing Noel, for choir and orchestra will be
included in the ERMMedia holiday CD, “Holidays of the New Era” and will
also be recorded the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra and chorus. He has also
arranged over 70 hymns for small wind ensemble, piano and organ.
A native Floridian, Williams
holds a Master of Music degree in composition from the University of
Colorado where he studied with both Richard Toensing and Luis Gonzalez, and
received private and master class lessons with composers George Crumb and
Joan Tower. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in
Theory from Stetson University, DeLand, Florida. He attended the Atlantic
Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Fl. where he studied composition
with Alvin Singleton, former composer-in-residence for the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra. Williams holds a Master of Business Administration degree from
Rollins College, Winter Park, Fl. He
is a past board member of the Colorado chapter of the American Choral
Directors Association. He is the former director of the Arvada Center
Chorale and has taught on both collegiate and elementary school levels. He
is a lifelong pianist, is proficient on all types of keyboards, has
orchestral experience as a cellist, and enjoys playing a variety of musical
instruments.