Jeremy Huw Williams (born 3 April 1969) is a Welsh

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer, known for his work in contemporary classical music.

Early life and education

Williams was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. He studied at

Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is a Welsh medium education, Welsh-medium coeducational secondary school in Llandaff North, a district in the north of Cardiff, Wales; it is the largest of its kind in the country. Of the three Welsh-medium secondary ...

, Cardiff,

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, at the

National Opera Studio The National Opera Studio in London, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council of Great Britain, Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until ...

, London, and with

April Cantelo April Rosemary Cantelo (2 April 1928 – 16 July 2024) was an English soprano. She created roles in operas by major composers, including the title role of ''Semele'' by John Eccles, Helena in Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and in sever ...

Career

Williams has appeared for

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

, Opera Ireland and

Music Theatre Wales Music Theatre Wales (MTW) is a touring contemporary opera company, based in Cardiff, Wales. MTW performs newly commissioned works, alongside existing pieces from the recent past which are either neglected or have been unseen in the UK. Works are ...

amongst others, and has released numerous recordings, most notably of music by contemporary Welsh composers, including

Alun Hoddinott Alun Hoddinott CBE (11 August 1929 – 12 March 2008) was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition. Life and works Hoddinott was born in Bargoed, Glamorganshire, Wales. He was educated at Gow ...

William Mathias William James Mathias CBE (1 November 1934 – 29 July 1992) was a Welsh composer noted for choral works. Biography William Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and b ...

and

Mansel Thomas Mansel Treharne Thomas, (12 June 1909 – 8 January 1986) was a Welsh composer and conductor, who worked mainly in South Wales. He was one of the most influential musicians of his generation, known as a composer, conductor and adjudicator. He ...

. In addition to these he has also given premieres of works by composers

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious music, religious works. Among his best known works are ''The Lamb (Tavener), The Lamb'' (1982), ''The ...

, Martin Butler, John Metcalf, Julian Phillips, Edward Dudley Hughes, Ian Wilson,

Richard Causton Richard Causton may refer to: * Richard Causton, 1st Baron Southwark Richard Knight Causton, 1st Baron Southwark PC, DL (25 September 1843 – 23 February 1929) was an English stationer and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons ...

, Edward Rushton, Arlene Sierra and

Huw Watkins Huw Thomas Watkins (born 13 July 1976) is a British composer and pianist. Born in South Wales, he studied piano and composition at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, where he received piano lessons from Peter Lawson. He then went on to r ...

. In 2019 he became President of the

Incorporated Society of Musicians The Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) is the UK and Ireland's professional body for musicians representing over 11,000 individuals across all areas of the music industry. The ISM is also a subject association for music education and is an in ...

(ISM).

Recordings

Williams has an extensive discography, including recordings of songs by

, and

Personal life

In 1991, Williams married Manon Jenkins, now

Manon Antoniazzi Manon Bonner Antoniazzi (''née'' Jenkins, previously Williams; born 15 April 1965) is a Welsh senior civil servant. Since April 2017 she has occupied the position of Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd. Previously she held the position o ...

. The marriage ended in divorce.

Honours

Williams was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

(BEM) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to music. He has also been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by

Glyndŵr University Wrexham University (; ) is a public university in the north-east of Wales, with campuses in Wrexham, Northop and St Asaph. It offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as professional courses. The university had students in ...

in 2009 for services to music in Wales, the

Honorary Degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

from the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

in 2011, and also the 2022

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

, the most prestigious non-competitive award given in Wales for services to the nation’s music.Jeremy's biography
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jeremy Huw 1969 births Singers from Cardiff Living people Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Welsh operatic baritones 20th-century Welsh male opera singers People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf Recipients of the British Empire Medal 21st-century Welsh male opera singers Presidents of the Independent Society of Musicians