Jeremy Huw Williams BEM (born 3 April 1969) is a Welsh baritone opera singer, known for his work in contemporary classical music.
Williams was born in Cardiff. He studied at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, Cardiff, St John's College, Cambridge, at the National Opera Studio, London, and with April Cantelo.
Williams has appeared for Welsh National Opera, Opera Ireland and Music Theatre Wales amongst others, and has released numerous recordings, most notably of music by contemporary Welsh composers, including Alun Hoddinott, William Mathias and Mansel Thomas. In addition to these he has also given premieres of works by composers John Tavener, Martin Butler, John Metcalf, Julian Phillips, Edward Dudley Hughes, Ian Wilson, Richard Causton, Edward Rushton, Arlene Sierra and Huw Watkins. [1] In 2019 he became President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM). [2]
Williams has an extensive discography, including recordings of songs by William Mathias, Alun Hoddinott, and Mansel Thomas. [3]
In 1991, Williams married Manon Jenkins, now Manon Antoniazzi. [4] The marriage ended in divorce.
Williams was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to music. [5] [6] He has also been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Glyndŵr University in 2009 for services to music in Wales, the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Aberdeen in 2011, and also the 2022 John Edwards Memorial Award, the most prestigious non-competitive award given in Wales for services to the nation’s music. [7]
The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".
The Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of 4.7 acres (1.9 ha). Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert.
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra. The BBC NOW has its administrative base in Cardiff, at the BBC Hoddinott Hall on the site of the Wales Millennium Centre, since January 2009.
Alun Hoddinott CBE was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.
The Glyndŵr Award is made for an outstanding contribution to the arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation. The award takes its name after Owain Glyndŵr, crowned Prince of Wales at Machynlleth in 1404.
Osian Gwynn Ellis was a Welsh harpist, composer and teacher. He was principal harpist of the London Symphony Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, and a harp teacher at the Royal Academy of Music. Many composers wrote music for him. From 1959 onwards, Ellis had a close professional partnership with Benjamin Britten that lasted to the latter's death. He often first performed and recorded Britten's works.
Andrew Matthews-Owen is a Welsh pianist and accompanist. He was born at Neath, Wales, and now lives in London, England.
Arwel Hughes OBE was a Welsh orchestral conductor and composer.
John Metcalf MBE is a Welsh-Canadian composer. He has worked in many forms, including large-scale operas, choral and orchestral works, and chamber music, both instrumental and vocal. His music is tonal, and is often rhythmically complex, with much use of polyrhythms.
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is a 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 schools serving Cardiff, it was the first to be established; the others are Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern. As of 2017, 36% of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 2008 to Wales and its people.
Nigel Foster is an English piano accompanist with a particular interest in the art song repertoire. He has performed in the UK and Europe, in Asia, and the Americas, and in 2008 toured New Zealand. He has appeared on radio and television in the UK and Europe, including song recitals on Classic FM and the soundtrack of the film L'homme est une femme comme les autres.
The National Youth Orchestra of Wales is the national youth orchestra of Wales, based in Cardiff. Founded in 1945, it is the longest-standing national youth orchestra in the world.
Cardiff University School of Music is the music department of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales. It is home to about 240 undergraduate and 40 postgraduate students. It was one of the first departments established when Cardiff University was granted its Royal Charter in 1883. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the School's was ranked 13th in the UK in the category Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts. Amongst music departments, The School ranked 2nd in the UK for quality of research environment and 8th in the UK for overall research excellence. The department holds close links with organisations such as BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera.
Christopher Painter is a composer who was born at Port Talbot, South Wales in 1962 and studied music at University College, Cardiff. His composition studies were initially with Timothy Taylor and Richard Elfyn Jones and in 1984 he began to study with Alun Hoddinott.
Idris Lewis was a Welsh conductor and composer. He worked on the film scores of a number of productions during the 1930s, when he was employed by British International Pictures. He was the Director of Music for the Welsh Region of the BBC.
The Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes is a composition for symphonic orchestra, based on traditional Welsh nursery tunes and lullabies, composed by Grace Williams in 1940. Although not typical of Williams' work it brought her to prominence and is the composer's most popular work.
I had a thorough grounding in Welsh airs and Welsh folk songs when I was a child and teenager, and they found their way into some very early works, now withdrawn, and of course into the Fantasia.
John Morgan Lloyd was a Welsh musician and minor composer. As a composer, he is best known for his hymn tunes, including "Pro Nostris Liberis", and was a representative of Wales on the committee for the 1927 revision of the Church Hymnary.
Manon Bonner Antoniazzi 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 of Chief Executive Officer of Visit Wales within the Welsh Government.
Kenneth Bowen was a Welsh tenor who was Head of Vocal Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.