DENISE
WILLIAMS

DENISE WILLIAMS, BSc, MA, ARCT

(Singer/Voice Teacher/Music Facilitator/Founding Artistic Director/Producer)

 

​​AWARDS: ORMTA CONTRIBUTION TO TEACHING, 2024; 100 ACCOMPLISHED BLACK CANADIAN WOMEN 2024

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Denise Williams is an established professional singer, voice teacher, concert producer and music facilitator.  She is a passionate advocate for the performing arts, leveraging her extensive professional experience and educational background to promote artistic expression and education.  With a belief in the transformative power of music and the arts to bridge societal divides, Denise has dedicated her career to nurturing talent, fostering inclusivity, and promoting cultural understanding. Denise told David Perlman, publisher, “The Whole Note” that ... “understanding other cultures around us ... forms our pluralistic identity (and that)” ... is what motivates her.

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Denise’s thirty-plus-years international career has put her at home on the concert, opera, and theatre stages. Highlights of her solo work include appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale (Founding Member), and Mirvish Productions (North American premiere of The Sound of Music). Her stage experience includes the Canadian debuts of Portia White First You Dream (Eastern Front Theatre, and Theatre Northwest), along with solo concerts in major venues in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Her most well-loved self-produced music project is her cross-cultural, Walk Together Children concert program, uniting African and Jewish diasporic cultures through music which has been presented in collaboration with professional musicians of the cultures represented and for many audiences (symposia, synagogues, school presentations, public presentations).  Recently, she has added Muslim cultural music intersections as a commentary on commonalities of forcibly migrant cultures and diasporas, musical assimilations, and attempts at bridging social gaps. This project was awarded an OAC grant in 2023 and was performed in collaboration with professional musicians of this culture and a community choir (the Jubilate Singers). Denise’s newest performance project is MELANATTÉ, a fusion of Classical and Romantic hits with a modern Black context, in collaboration with its brainchild, Andrew Craig (aka Rhapsodius).

 

In addition to her achievements as a performer, Denise is also dedicated to arts education and community engagement. Her community music leadership contributions have included preschool and afterschool programs, music programs in seniors residences, choral directing, and choral workshops (CAMMAC, The Jubilate Singers, Common Thread Choirs, and The UT Scarborough Concert Choir), and has been a juror for arts councils (OAC, FACTOR).  She has also been involved in international community music symposia addressing Music and Social Intervention, Music Collaboration Across Difference (York, St John University, UK), and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Level Education (Wilfrid Laurier University).

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Denise is Founding Artistic Director and Producer of No Strings Theatre (NST) which supports the next generation of artists and encourages the development of new Canadian theatrical works.  She is currently on the music theatre voice faculty of Sheridan College, operates her Voices of Colour Music (VCM) music studio, is a certified advanced voice teacher affiliate and examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, and a national vocal adjudicator. Professional memberships include CAEA, ACTRA, NATS, and ORMTA-CTB.

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Denise has launched and supported scholarships for Black students and artists (Sheridan College music theatre, ORMTA-CTB).   She continues to advocate for cross-cultural sharing of music traditions, equity, diversity and inclusion on performance stages.

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ACTIVE ROLES

Voice Coach (current production of Lion King, Mirvish Productions)

Voice Teacher & National Vocal Adjudicator (over 30 years)

Part time Music Theatre Faculty, Sheridan College (since 2018)

Founding Artistic Director, No Strings Theatre (since 2005)

Teacher Affiliate & Examiner, Royal Conservatory of Music (since 2000)

Owns Voices of Colour Music Studio (VCM) (since 1990)

 

MEMBERSHIPS

Member, Elora Festival and Elora Singers Board of Directors (since 2023)

National Association for Teachers of Singing (NATS), (since 2008)

Immediate Past President, ORMTA Central Toronto Branch (member since 2008)

ACTRA, CAEA (since 2004)

 

EDUCATION

Master of Arts, Community Music, Wilfrid Laurier University

Arts and Entertainment Administration - Raymond Chang School, Toronto Metropolitan University. (formerly Ryerson)

ARCT Singing Diploma, Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM)

Kodaly Pedagogy Certificate, RCM

Early Childhood Music Education, RCM/Ryerson

Bachelor of Science, University of Toronto, Trinity College