Robert Williams is an American bassoonist and former principal bassoon of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

from 1974-2020.

Life and Career

Robert Williams first began playing bassoon in junior high school and attended

Catalina High School Catalina High School (also known as Catalina Magnet High School) is a public high school, located on the north side of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Catalina is a magnet high school (drawing students from the entire school district) in Tucson ...

in Tucson, Arizona. He went on to study at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

where he studied bassoon with Wendel Jones, creator of the first mass produced bassoon reed. During the summers Williams studied bassoon with Norman Herzberg, and with Leonard Sharrow at the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...

. He briefly attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

as a graduate student. While a student at the University of Arizona, Williams won the principal bassoon position with the

Tucson Symphony Orchestra The Tucson Symphony Orchestra, or TSO, is the primary professional orchestra of Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1928, when the season consisted of just two concerts, the TSO is the oldest continuously running performing arts organization in the Sout ...

. Shortly after his graduation, he won the principal bassoon position with the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of ...

. In 1974, at the age of 24, he won the principal bassoon position of the

. Throughout his career, Williams played guest principal bassoon with the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Th ...

and

Boston Symphony The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO perfor ...

. Williams was bassoon faculty for many summers at the

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, th ...

, and was interim faculty at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. He also taught bassoon at

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...

, the

Grand Teton Music Festival The Grand Teton Music Festival is a year-round classical music presenting organization in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The non-profit organization was founded in 1962. The primary season is a seven-week summer classical music festival. Over 200 classic ...

, Claremont Music Festival, and the Utah Music Festival. Williams gave bassoon masterclasses at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

, the

Music Academy of the West The Music Academy of the West is a summer classical music training program in Montecito, California, and festival with performances in the County of Santa Barbara. Overview The academy annually enrolls 136 pre-professional musicians in their ...

, and the

. Williams' playing is well recorded and can be heard on Detroit Symphony recordings with

Antal Doráti Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Antal Doráti was born in Budapest to a Jewish family. His father Alexander Do ...

on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

label, as well as recordings with

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...

on the Chandos label. Throughout his career Williams was a supporter of

Fox Products Hugo Fox (February 2, 1897 in South Whitley, Indiana – December 29, 1969 in South Whitley, Indiana) was an American classical bassoonist. He also designed and manufactured bassoons and oboes. Fox studied the bassoon with Adolph Weiss, a member ...

, the only American manufacturer of professional bassoons. Williams played on a Fox bassoon in the Detroit Symphony throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Later Life

Williams is married to former Detroit Symphony English Horn Treva Womble. They retired and moved to Williams' home town of Tucson in 2020. In retirement they run Womble-Williams Double Reeds, a home business that specializes in products for oboe and bassoon.https://womblewilliams.com/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert American classical bassoonists Aspen Music Festival and School faculty 1949 births Living people Wayne State University faculty University of Michigan faculty Michigan State University faculty University of Arizona alumni University of Southern California alumni Players of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra