Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 1965) is a British baritone and composer.

Biography

Williams was born in North London to a Welsh father and a Jamaican mother. He attended

Christ Church Cathedral School Christ Church Cathedral School is an independent preparatory school for boys in Oxford, England. It is one of three choral foundation schools in the city and educates choristers of Christ Church Cathedral, and the Chapels of Worcester College ...

in Oxford and

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The school is a m ...

, a public school in Hertfordshire. He was a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, and then became a music teacher. At the age of 28, he resumed music studies at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and j ...

in London. At Guildhall, he made his operatic debut as Tarquinius in

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''

The Rape of Lucretia ''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera was f ...

''. Williams first appeared at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...

in 1996 as the Royal Herald in Verdi's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

''. He was a soloist at the 2013 Proms production of Ralph Vaughan Williams' ‘

A Sea Symphony ''A Sea Symphony'' is an hour-long work for soprano, baritone, chorus and large orchestra written by Ralph Vaughan Williams between 1903 and 1909. The first and longest of his nine symphonies, it was first performed at the Leeds Festival in ...

’, and again in 2014

Last Night of the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Ha ...

, which included performances of his own arrangements of two songs. His commercial recordings include albums for Naxos and for Signum. In 2006, Williams and the Sacconi Quartet made the premiere recording of Gerald Finzi's 1921-22 song cycle '' By Footpath and Stile''. Williams is the president of Junior Saint James Singers and has been the president of Malvern Concert Club since July 2014 and of the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally fea ...

Society since December 2016. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours 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 as p ...

for services to music. In 2019 he was announced as Patron of Birmingham Bach Choir. In 2020 he was appointed President of the London concert series Thames Concerts. In 2022, he was appointed a Vice-President of The Bach Choir. Williams and his wife, Miranda, have two daughters and a son. His sister-in-law is the stage director Orpha Phelan. In 2022 Williams became a Patron of Opera Brava, "Britain's leading outdoor touring Opera Company" https://operabrava.com.

Operatic repertoire

*Escamillo in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

'' by

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

*Sid in ''

Albert Herring ''Albert Herring'', Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera '' The Rape of Lucretia''. The libretto, by Eric C ...

'' by

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

*Billy Budd in ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...

'' by Britten *Henry Cuffe in ''

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Ho ...

'' by Britten *Ned Keene and Balstrode in ''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fiction ...

'' by Britten *Tarquinius in ''

'' by Britten *Top in ''

The Tender Land ''The Tender Land'' is an opera with music by Aaron Copland and libretto by Horace Everett, a pseudonym for Erik Johns. History The opera tells of a farm family in the Midwest of the United States. Copland was inspired to write this opera aft ...

'' by Copland *Belcore in ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' ( opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera pre ...

'' by

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style duri ...

*Albert in ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''T ...

'' by

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' ...

*Don Giovanni in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spani ...

'' by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

*Guglielmo in ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte ...

'' by Mozart *The Count in ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It prem ...

'' by Mozart *Papageno in ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inc ...

'' by Mozart *Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' by

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

*Marcello in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuse ...

'' by

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

*Schaunard in ''La bohème'' by Puccini *Figaro in ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was bas ...

'' by

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

*Harlequin in ''

Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Opus number, Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one o ...

'' by

Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually r ...

*Onegin in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by A ...

'' by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

*The King's Herald in ''

'' by

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Recordings

Song with piano or chamber accompaniment ''Complete Cantatas'' Rameau With Rachel Elliott, soprano, James Gilchrist, tenor, and Thomas Guthrie, bass. New Chamber Opera Ensemble Cond. Gary Cooper 1998 ASV Ltd CD GAX 234/1 and /2 ''The Songs of Percy Turnbull'' Turnbull With Nancy Argenta, soprano and Robin Bowman, piano. 2000 Somme SOMMCD 020 ''Blood-red Carnations'' Songs by Schoenberg With Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano, Iain Burnside, piano. 2002 Black Box ''I said to Love - Let Us Garlands Bring - Before and After Summer'' Finzi With Iain Burnside, piano 2004 Naxos 8.557644 ''Songs of Travel - The House of Life - Four poems by Fredegond Shove'' Vaughan Williams With Iain Burnside, piano. 2004 Naxos 8.557643 ''Beastly Tales'' Panufnik With Patrizia Rozario, sopranon, Yvonne Howard, mezzo-soprano, City of London Sinfonia cond. Sian Edwards 2005 EMI Classics 0946 3 56692 2 0 ''Earth and Air and Rain - By Footpath and Stile - To a Poet'' Finzi With Iain Burnside, piano and the Sacconi Quartet. 2005/6 Naxos 8.557963 ''Severn & Somme'' Howells, Sanders, Wilson, Venables With Susie Allan, piano. 2006 Somm SOMMCD 057 ''The Sky Shall Be Our Roof'' Songs from the operas of Vaughan Williams With Sarah Fox, soprano, Juliette Pochin, mezzo-soprano, Andrew Staples, Iain Burnside, piano. 2007 Albion Records ALB001 ''Complete Solo Songs'' Moeran With Geraldine McGreevy, soprano, Adrian Thompson, Tenor, John Talbot, piano. 2008/9 Chandos CHAN 10596(2) ''Songs before Sleep'' Richard Rodney Bennett With Sophie Daneman, soprano, Susan Bickley, Mezzo-soprano, Benjamin Hulett, tenor, Oliver Coates, cello and Iain Burnside, piano. 2009 NMC Recordings NMC D155 ''Songs'' Michael Head With Ailish Tynan, soprano, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, mezzo-soprano, Christopher Glynn, piano. 2009 Hyperion CDA67899 ''Songs from A Shropshire Lad - Folk Songs from Sussex'' Butterworth With Iain Burnside, piano. 2010 Naxos 8.572426 ''Songs and Proverbs of Williams Blake - Tit for Tat - Folk-songs'' Britten With Iain Burnside, piano. 2011 Naxos 8.572600 ''Songs - The Airmen'' Shaw With Sophie Bevan, soprano, Andrew Kennedy, tenor, Iain Burnside, piano. 2012 Delphian DCD 33105 ''Italienisches Liederbuch'' Wolf With Joan Rodgers, soprano, Roger Vignoles, piano. 2012 Champs Hill Records CHRCD054 ''The Isles of Greece (from the CD 'Wild Cyclamen')'' Hugh Wood With Iain Burnside, piano. 2014 NMC Recordings ''Dylan - The Drowning of Capel Celyn'' Stimpson With Sioned Williams, harp. 2006/2015 Stone Records ''Twelve Sets of English Lyrics - Volume 1'' Parry With Susan Gritton, soprano, James Gilchrist, tenor, Andrew West, piano. 2015 Somm SOMMCD 257 ''The Songs of Donald Swann'' With Dame Felicity Lott, soprano, Kathryn Rudge, mezzo-soprano, John Mark Ainsley, tenor, Christopher Glynn, piano. 2015/2016 Hyperion CDA68172 ''Twelve Sets of English Lyrics - Volume 2'' Parry With Sarah Fox, soprano, James Gilchrist, tenor, Andrew West, piano. 2017 Somm SOMMCD 270 ''Twelve Sets of English Lyrics - Volume 3'' Parry With Sarah Fox, soprano, Andrew West, piano. 2017 Somm SOMMCD 272 ''Man and Bat'' Skempton Ensemble 360 2017 First Hand Records FHR90 ''Winter Journey'' Schubert's ''Winterreise'' in an English version by Jeremy Sams With Christopher Glynn, piano. 2017 Signum SIGCD531 ''Those Blue Remembered Hills'' Songs by Gurney, Howells With the Bridge Quartet, Michael Dussek, piano 2018 EM Records ''Die Schöne Müllerin'' Schubert With Iain Burbside, piano. 2018 Chandos CHAN 20113 ''The Song of Love'' songs by Vaughan Williams With Kitty Whately, mezzo-soprano, Williams Vann, piano 2018 Albion ALBCD037 ''Time and Space'' songs by Holst and Vaughan Williams With Mary Bevan, soprano, Williams Vann, Jack Liebeck, violin. 2018 Albion ALBCD038 ''Schwanengesang/ An die ferne Geliebte'' Schubert/Beethoven With Iain Burnside, piano. 2019 Chandos CHAN 20126 ''Maud - A Shropshire Lad'' Somervell With Susie Allan, piano. 2019 Somm SOMMCD 0615 ''Schwanengesang'' Schubert ''An die ferne Geliebte'' Beethoven With Iain Burnside, piano. 2020 Chandos 20126 ''Birdsong'' Songs by Brahms, Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Beamish With Andrew West, piano. 2020 Somm SOMMCD 0633 ''Folk Songs Volume 1'' Vaughan Williams With Mary Bevan, soprano, Nicky Spence, tenor, Jack Liebeck, violin, William Vann, piano. 2020 Albion Records ALBCD042 ''Folk Songs Volume 2'' Vaughan Williams With Mary Bevan, soprano, Nicky Spence, tenor, Thomas Gould, violin, Williams Vann, piano. 2020 Albion Records ALBCD043 ''Folk Songs Volume 3'' Vaughan Williams With Mary Bevan, soprano, Nicky Spence. tenor, Williams Vann, piano 2020 Albion Records ALBCD044 ''Folk Songs Volume 4'' Vaughan Williams With Mary Bevan, soprano, Nicky Spence, tenor, William Vann, piano 2020 Albion Records ALBCD045 ''Winterreise'' Schubert With Iain Burnside, piano. 2021 Chandos CHAN 20163 ''Mirages: The Art of French Song'' With Roger Vignoles, piano. 2021 Champs Hill Records CHRCD159 ''Façade'' Walton With Tamsin Dalley, The Orchestra of The Swan cond. Bruce O'Neil 2021 Somm SOMMCD 277 ''On This Shining Night'' Warlock, Barber, Beamish, Delius With Sophie Bevan, soprano, James Gilchrist, tenor, the Coull Quartet 2021 Somm SOMMCD 0654 ''Songs of William Busch'' Busch and others With Diana Moore, mezzo-sorano, Robin Tritschler, tenor, John Reid, piano. 2021 Lyrita SRCD.409 Oratorio, cantata and other orchestral and choral works ''Shield of Faith'' Bliss Finzi Singers dir. Paul Spicer 1991 Chandos CHAN 8980 ''In terra pax'' Frank Martin London Philharmonic, Brighton Festival Chorus cond Matthias Bamert 1995 Chandos CHAN 9465 ''The Hag/Two songs of Robert Bridges'' Frank Bridge BBC National Orchestra of Wales cond. Richard Hickox 2003 Chandos CHAN 10246 ''Mass of the Children'' Rutter The Cambridge Singers, Cantate Youth Choir, City of London Sinfonia cond. John Rutter 2003 Collegium Records COLCD 129 ''The Crucifixion'' Stainer Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra, Guildford Camerata cond. Barry Rose 2003 Lammas Records LAMM 154D ''Christopher Columbus - A Musical Journey'' Walton BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales cond. Richard Hickox 2004 Chandos CHSA 5034 ''The Apostles'' Elgar Canterbury Choral Society, Philharmonia Orchestra cond. Richard Cooke 2005 Quartz QTZ 2017 ''Fantasia on Christmas Carols/The First Nowell/On Christmas Night'' Vaugan Williams City of London Sinfonia cond Richard Hickox 2005 Chandos CHAN 10385 ''Symphony No.1 - 'Oliver Cromwell Rutland Boughton BBC Concert Orchestra cond. Handley 2006 Dutton CDLX 7185 ''Sir Patrick Spens'' Howells Katy Butler, soprano, James Gilchrist, tenor, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra cond. David Hill 2006 Naxos 8.570352 ''Five Poems of the Spirit'' Bairstow With The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, Britten Sinfonia cond. David Hill 2007 Hyperion CDA67497 ''Omar Khayyam'' Bantock With Catherine Wyn-Rogers, mezzo-soprano, Toby Spence, tenor, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Vernon Handley 2005/2007 Chandos CHSA 5051(3) ''Vespers'' Mozart ''Requiem'' Fauré The Sixteen & Academy of St Martin in the Fields cond. Harry Christophers 2007 Coro CORI6057 ''In terra pax/ A spotless rose'' Finzi/Howells With City of London Choir, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra con. Hilary Davan Wetton 2009 Vaxos 8.572102 ''Pageant of Empire/Sea Pictures'' Elgar, ''Lights Out'' Gurney ''Shore Leave'' Hurd BBC Concert Orchewstra cond. Martin Yates 2009 Epoch CDLX 7243 ''Sea Drift/Cynara'' Delius Hallé Orchestra, Choir and Youth Choir cond. Sir Mark Elder 2011/12 CD HLL 7535 ''Ring Dance of the Nazarene/The Moth Requiem'' Birtwistle BBC Singers, The Nash Ensemble cond. Nicholas Kok 2013 Signum Classoc SIGCD368 ''Falling Nan/Movie House/Songs of Innocence'' Kenneth Fuchs London Symphony Orchestra cond JoAnn Falletta 2013 Naxos 8.559753 ''Aftertones/No Man's Land'' Colin Matthews Hallé Choir and Orchestra cond. Nicholas Collon 2014 CD HLL 7538 ''Requiem da Camera'' Finzi London Mozart Players cond. Hilary Davan Wetton 2014 Naxos 8.573426 ''Israel in Egypt'' Handel Nederlands Kamerkoor Le Concert Lorrain cond. Roy Goodman 2014 ET'CETERA ''Three Nocturnes'' Vaughan Williams BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Martyn Brabbins 2015 Albion Records ''Israel in Agypten'' Handel/Mendelssohn With Choir of the King's Consort, The King's Consort, cond. Robert King 2015 VIVAT 111 ''Fantasia on Christmas Carols'' Vaughan Williams With the Choir of Magdalen College Oxford, cond. Daniel Hyde 2016 Opus Arte OA CD9022 ''Songs'' Elgar BBC Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Sir Andrew Davis 2017 Chandos CHSA 5188 ''Choral Symphony'' Dyson Bach Choir, Bournmouth Symphony Orchestra dir. David Hill 2017 Naxos 8.573770 ''Four Last Songs'' Vaughan Williams Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra cond Sir Andrew Davis 2017 Chandos CHSA 5186 ''Dream Song'' Daniel Kidane Chineke! Orchestra and Chorus cond. Anthony Parnther 2018 NMC Recordings NMC D250 ''L'Enfance du Christ'' Berlioz Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus cond. Sir Andrew Davis 2018 Chandos CHSA 5228(2) ''Songs of Travel'' Vaughan Williams Royal Scottish National Orchestra cond. Martin Yates 2018 Dutton Epoch CDLX 7359 ''Messiah'' Handel Rias Kammerchor Berlin Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin cond. Justin Doyle 2020 PENTATONE Opera Ned Keene: ''Peter Grimes'' Britten City of London Sinfonia cond. Richard Hickox 1995 Chandos CHAN 94477/8 Obstinate, Watchful, First Shepherd: ''The Pilgrim's Progress'' Vaughan Williams Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal House cond. Richard Hickox 1997 Chandos CH 9625(2) Prince Andrey Bolkonsky: ''War and Peace'' Prokofiev Spoleto Festival Orchestra cond. Richard Hickox 1999 Chandos 9855 Gallanthus: ''The Poisoned Kiss'' Vaughan Williams BBC National Orchestra of Wales cond. Richard Hickox 2003 Chandos CHAN 10120(2) Rôle uncredited: ''A Hand of Bridge'' Barber Royal Scottish National Orchestra cond. Marin Alsop 2003 Naxos 8.559135 Head Reaper: ''Ruth'' Lennox Berkeley City of London Sinfonia cond. Richard Hickox 2003 Chandos CHAN 10301 The Earl of Dunmow: ''A Dinner Engagement'' Lennox Berkeley City of London Sinfonia cond. Richard Hickox 2003 Chandos CHAN 10219 Mercury: ''The Judgment of Paris'' Eccles Early Opera Company cond. Christian Curnyn 2008 Chandos CHAN 0759 Wandering Jew: ''The Wandering Jew'' Saxton BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers cond André de Ridder 2008/09 NMC Recordings NMC D170 Harlequin ''Ariadne on Naxos'' Richard Strauss Scottish Chamber Orchestra cond Sir Richard Armstrong 2010 Chandos CHAN 3168(2) Captain Balstrode: ''Peter Grimes'' Britten Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs cond. Edward Gardner 2019 Chandos CHSA 5250(2)

Composition

Williams was commissioned by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...

'' in 2014 to compose a Christmas carol, 'Christmas Bells', a setting of a poem by Longfellow. It was premiered by the Godwine Choir at St George the Martyr church in Southwark, London. His choral orchestral setting of

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculosi ...

' ''

To Autumn "To Autumn" is a poem by English Romantic poet John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821). The work was composed on 19 September 1819 and published in 1820 in a volume of Keats's poetry that included '' Lamia'' and '' The Eve of St. Agn ...

'' was commissioned by the Waynflete Singers in 2019 and was premiered in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". '' National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winche ...

on 16 October 2021.Waynflete Singers
/ref>

References

External links

Groves Artists agency page on Roderick Williams

Allmusic Guide page on Roderick Williams

Signum Records biography of Roderick Williams

Roderick Williams, "'Oh, the glamour!' – Roderick Williams weighs up a singer's life". The Arts Desk, 6 July 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Roderick 1965 births Living people English operatic baritones English people of Jamaican descent Singers from London Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British male opera singers 20th-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male opera singers 21st-century Black British male singers 20th-century British composers 21st-century British composers British male composers