Carol Anne Williams D.M.A.,

ARAM Aram may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Aram'' (film), 2002 French action drama * Aram, a fictional character in Japanese manga series '' MeruPuri'' * Aram Quartet, an Italian music group * ''Aram'' (Kural book), the first of the three ...

, FRCO,

FTCL Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

ARCM Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) is a diploma qualification of the Royal College of Music, equivalent to a university first degree. Like the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music diploma (LRAM), it was offered in teaching or perf ...

(born 1972) is a British-born international concert organist and composer, now residing in America. She served from October 2001 and resigned her post in October 2016 as Civic Organist for the city of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California, performing regularly at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. She was concurrently serving as the artistic director of the Spreckels Organ Society; producing the largest organ festival in North America since 2001. She was formerly the Artist in Residence at St. Paul's Cathedral San Diego. Upon stepping down from her post as Civic Organist for the city of

in October 2016, in recognition of her fifteen years of service, Carol was awarded the title of San Diego Civic Organist Emerita. Presently the Artist in Residence at Peachtree Christian Church in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia and the Artistic Director of Viscount North America. As a featured musician on many media platforms, she highlights her profound love for the "King of Instruments." Carol hosts ''TourBus'', a documentary series exploring the large and small, famous and unique pipe organs of the world,"TourBus"
Bell Video and also, hosts a YouTube talk show series called "On The Bench with Dr. Carol” where she interviews musical artists.

Early life and education

Williams was born in Great Britain in a Welsh family with musical influences. She began private lessons at age five and was able to read music before she was reading English. Her formal training started with five years at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

where she specialised in the organ, performing as a student of David Sanger. She obtained the academy's prestigious Recital Diploma, together with the

LRAM Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) is a professional diploma, or licentiate, formerly open to both internal students of the Royal Academy of Music and to external candidates in voice, keyboard and orchestral instruments and guitar, a ...

for both organ and piano. She was awarded all the major prizes for organ performing and, during her studies, she became a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Royal College of Organists and a Fellow of Trinity College London, as well as an Associate of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. Williams has also studied with Daniel Roth, the Organist at the Church of St. Sulpice, Paris. Moving to the United States, Williams undertook postgraduate study at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

under the direction of Thomas Murray. She was appointed University Chapel Organist and was awarded an Artist Diploma (AD) together with the Charles Ives Prize for outstanding achievement. She then relocated to New York City where she became the Associate Organist at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Long Island's Garden City. She undertook doctoral study under McNeil Robinson at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, where she received the

Helen Cohn Helen Barbara Kruger (July 29, 1913 – April 7, 2006) also known as Bobbie Nudie, was an American apparel designer and retailer. Kruger was born in Mankato, Minnesota. She met her future husband Nudie Cohn at her parents’ boarding house. H ...

award for her Doctor of Musical Arts ( D.M.A.) degree.

Career

Williams has performed around the world, including: St. Sulpice and

Notre Dame, Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

;

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

, Los Angeles;

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

;

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

;

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

;

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

;

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

;

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

;

Woolsey Hall Woolsey Hall is the primary auditorium at Yale University, located on the campus' Hewitt Quadrangle in New Haven, Connecticut. It was built as part of the Bicentennial Buildings complex that includes the Memorial Rotunda and the University Comm ...

; Memorial Chapel,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

; St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York; Washington National Cathedral; St. Ignatius Loyola, New York;

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornings ...

, New York. She has also given numerous concerts in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Monaco, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, China and Russia. Williams has been elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in recognition of her contribution to music. A regular broadcaster in the UK and in America, she has been the guest performer with a number of leading orchestras including the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Concert Orchestra, San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. She performed the inaugural recitals on a newly installed Austin organ in Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall. Williams has been interviewed on many radio programs, in which she has highlighted her 'profound love' of the organ, and she is featured in the national-awareness video ''Pulling out all the Stops'' when she was filmed in concert at St. Thomas' Church on New York's Fifth Avenue. She also took part in the

Virgil Fox Virgil Keel Fox (May 3, 1912 in Princeton, Illinois – October 25, 1980 in Palm Beach, Florida) was an American organist, known especially for his years as organist at Riverside Church in New York City, from 1946 to 1965, and his flamboyant "Heavy ...

Memorial Concert held in the fall of 2000 at New York's Riverside Church, and a recording of the event was released. Williams also hosts a video series ''TourBus'', which focuses on various pipe organs around the world as with the music, people and places associated with them. In October 2001, Williams became the first woman in the United States to be appointed Civic Organist. She served as the San Diego Civic Organist and

Artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the Spreckels Organ Society in

, California from 2001 to 2016. Williams performs an average of 75 concerts a year worldwide. Williams regularly attracts new audiences to the pipe organ with charismatic humor and programs of intense genre diversity, including collaborations with various jazz, blues, pop and rock bands. Concert patrons have received her live performances with 'rock star' enthusiasm.

Philanthropy

Williams performs about 20 hours of free organ concerts a year to raise awareness and funds for various charitable organisations.

Compositions

Published by Melcot Music: *TourBus (For Organ and Drums) ©2008 *Twilight (For Organ) ©2013 *Major Something, Non Fat Latte! (For Organ) ©2013 *Bonnie Eriskay (For Organ and Bagpipes) ©2013 *Suite For Organ ©2014 *Daisy Violin (Violin and Organ) ©2014 *Dragon Dance (Violin and Organ) ©2014 *Venus Toccata (For Organ) ©2014 *Three Thoughts (For Piano) ©2014 *Freedom (For Organ) ©2014 *Centennial Spreckels Fanfare (For Organ) ©2014 *Tiger Lilly Waltz (For Organ) ©2014 *Divine Song (For Organ and Voice) ©2015 *For Michael (For Piano) ©2015 *Dietrich's Dilemma! (For Organ) ©2015 *Andromeda (For Organ) ©2015 *Sophie's Game (For Organ) ©2015

Discography

Produced by Melcot Music: *Rejoice with Dr. Carol MCTCD023 *Just Carol Compositions MCTCD022 *Carol's Christmas MCTCD021 *Carol Williams Plays – Volume 2, Madness! MCTCD020 *Carol Williams Plays MCTCD019 *Mainly French MCTCD018 *Hey Wurlitzer MCTCD016 *Maid in China MCTCD015 *Wurlitzer Plus! MCTCD014 *Orchestral! MCTCD013 *Tour de Force MCTCD012 *Classic Power: Popular Organ Music From Winchester Cathedral MCTCD011 *Just Rags MCTCD007 *Hammond Today MCTCD002 *Carol Williams’ Collection *Sunday at 2 *Blenheim Palace *Oxford Town Hall Produced by Rumley Music: *House of Scotland RMCD1220

Videos

Produced by Valentine Music: *Blenheim Palace – A Musical Tour OSV-507 *Organ Showcase OSV-508 Produced by Bell Video: *TourBus 1 to the King of Instruments MCTDVD001 *TourBus 2 goes to Methuen MCTDVD002 *TourBus 3 goes to Spreckels MCTDVD003 *TourBus 4 goes to Paris MCTDVD004 *TourBus 5 goes to Luxembourg MCTDVD005 *TourBus 6 goes to Ocean Grove MCTDVD006 *TourBus 7 goes to Disney Hall MCTDVD007 *TourBus 8 goes Celtic MCTDVD008 *TourBus 9 First Congregational Church, Los Angeles MCTDVD009 *TourBus 10 goes to St. Paul's Cathedral San Diego MCTDVD010 *TourBus 11 goes to the Compenius Organ in Denmark MCTDVD011 *TourBus 12 goes to the Salomons' Welte Organ in England MCTDVD012 *TourBus 13 goes to the Peragallo Pipe Organ Company USA MCTDVD013

References

External links

Carol Williams' official website

Carol Williams' FaceBook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Carol American classical organists Women organists British classical organists British expatriates in the United States Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Associates of the Royal College of Music Fellows of the Royal College of Organists Musicians from San Diego People from Valley Center, California Articles containing video clips 1962 births 20th-century organists 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century organists 21st-century American women musicians Classical musicians from California 21st-century American keyboardists