Julius P. Williams has been named president of the Conductors Guild, a global membership organization encompassing conductors of symphony, opera, ballet, choral, band, contemporary, and chamber ensembles. Dr. Williams is the first African American president in the organization’s history. He began his two-year term on January 3.
Currently, Dr. Williams serves as a professor of composition at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is also the artistic director and conductor of the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra, music director and conductor of Trilogy: An Opera Company in New Jersey, composer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra “Composer-in-Residence Project,” and works with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Throughout his career, Professor Williams has performed at music venues across the country. He has conducted ensembles at Carnegie Hall, and performances with orchestras in Dallas, Savannah, Hartford, Sacramento, Tulsa, and Knoxville, as well as the Harlem Symphony, Armor Artist Chamber Orchestra, Connecticut Opera, and the Kalistos Chamber Orchestra in Boston.
“The appointment of Julius Williams as president of Conductors Guild is both meaningful and newsworthy. Maestro Williams has not only the stellar credentials, but the right vision, breadth and leadership, to set a powerful example for our field,” said Afa S. Dworkin, president and artistic director of The Sphinx Organization. “We applaud the Conductors Guild on this news and look forward to many inspiring programs and ideas that will undoubtedly emerge!”
Professor Williams holds a bachelor’s degree from Herbert Lehman College of the City University of New York and a master of music education degree from the Hartt School of Music of the University of Hartford in Connecticut.
