Episode 177 - Nicholas Williams

Nicholas Williams is an Associate Professor of Music, Music Director and Conductor of the Wind Symphony and Concert Band at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He joins the show to talk about growing up and starting his career in Texas and his recent move to Australia.

Topics:

• Nick’s origin story growing up in Texas, the role of the church in his early musical development, and why his Mom wouldn’t let him play the clarinet.
• Going to the University of North Texas as an undergraduate and Nick’s first teaching job.
• Teaching only 9th and 10th graders at Clark High School in Plano, Texas.
• The story of how Nick ended up in Australia and his early observations about the differences between his experience there versus his experiences in Texas.

Links:

• Nicholas Williams
• Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
• Persichetti: Symphony no. 6 for Band
• Barnes: Symphony no. 3, Lento

Biography:

Dr Nicholas Enrico Williams is an Associate Professor of Music, Music Director and Conductor of the Wind Symphony and Concert Band at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in Melbourne, Australia. Before moving to Melbourne, for sixteen years Dr Williams was the Assistant Director of Wind Studies, Conductor of the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and the Director of Athletic Bands at the University of North Texas.

For a decade, he was the Conductor of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony. In addition, he is a frequent guest conductor for the Dallas Winds (formerly Dallas Wind Symphony).

As an advocate of chamber music, Dr Williams was the founder and conductor of the East Plano Brass and was the principal guest conductor for the Harmoniemusik chamber ensemble. In the wind band world, he has been a guest conductor with the United States Air Force Band; Dallas Wind Symphony; Lone Star Wind Orchestra; at the annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois; the College Band Directors National Association regional conference; the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention; and the Texas Music Educators Association Annual Clinic in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr Williams is active in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe, and Southeast Asia as a conductor, clinician, adjudicator, consultant, and arranger; his arrangements and transcriptions for wind band, percussion ensembles, drum corps, and school pagentry ensembles are performed by outstanding organizations throughout the world.

Dr Williams is a sought-after recording session producer, associate producer, and editor, having been involved with numerous CDs and DVDs on the Klavier, Mark Records, GIA labels, as well as UNT projects. In addition to his work in the recording arts, he has written several conductor study guides that are published in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series. He is a primary consultant of Women of Influence in Contemporary Music and is an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. His professional affiliations include the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, College Band Directors National Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Phi Beta Mu, an international bandmasters fraternity.