DENISE WILLIAMS
Soprano,Voice Teacher in Toronto,
ACTRA,CAEA,NATS,ORMTA,RCME
Canadian Opera's Voice of
SOPHISTICATED SOUL
ABOUT DENISE
DENISE WILLIAMS, BSc, MA, ARCT
(Singer/Voice Teacher/Music Facilitator/Founding Artistic Director/Producer)
Denise Williams is a professional singer, music educator and facilitator. She holds an ARCT in Singing Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music, a Masters in Community Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, and studied Arts and Entertainment Administration at Ryerson University.
Her 30+ year international solo performance career has put her at home on the concert, opera, and theatre stages, presenting a myriad of self-produced concerts and working with, to name a few national companies, The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Mirvish Productions, Eastern Front Theatre, Theatre Northwest as well as international appearances. Highlights of her performance career include most recently a concert performance in with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Oriente in Cuba, and in Toronto, Walk Together Children - A Cross-Cultural Concert Celebration (Black, Jewish, Muslim) at the The Toronto Centre for the Arts, now known as the Meridian Arts Centre (Fall 2018), the Nathaniel Dett Chorale’s concert performance of Treemonisha at Koerner Hall, Andrew Craig's King’s Playlist at the Harbourfront centre's Fleck Dance Theatre (2017), the cast of Mirvish's North American Premier of The Sound of Music at the Princes of Wales Theatre (2008-2010), and other notable solo performances. Her CD, Walk Together Children, is a cross-cultural initiative, featuring music from the roots of Black & Jewish music.
Denise currently concentrates her time on performance education, and has founded No Strings Theatre with a desire to aid youth in developing their skills in music theatre as well as grow in their team skills for life. She has been a private voice teacher for over 30 years (Voices of Colour Music studio), as well as Royal Conservatory of Music examiner and national adjudicator for over 20 years. She is currently a part time faculty member in Sheridan College’s Music Theatre department, a certified advanced voice teacher for the RCM and sessional sacred music professor for the Canada Christian College.
Professional memberships include President of The Central Toronto Branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association (ORMTA-CTB), executive of the National Association for Teachers of Singing (NATS), and the Canadian Actors Equity.
Denise has participated in international symposiums, particularly addressing cross-cultural sharing of music traditions involving the African Diaspora.
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DENISE WILLIAMS CV HERE
DENISE'S LATEST PROJECT
Melanatté
“Melanin”: a naturally-occurring pigment that is often one of the defining characteristics of Blackness. “Latté”: a creamy beverage, born out of European culture, that is both strong and sweet, and that elicits deep pleasure when consumed. Thus, Melanatté is the hybrid name given to this musical project that combines some of the most famous vocal melodies from the Western European Art Music tradition with the harmonies and rhythms of the African Diaspora.
Melanatté takes the undisputed “hits” from the Classical and Romantic music canon and places them in a modern Black context, making them accessible to multiple generations of music lovers, right across the spectrum. Melanatté is the brainchild of Canadian artistic polymath Rhapsodius, who has produced tributes to Quincy Jones and Oscar Peterson, and performed for Nelson Mandela - twice. Rhapsodius creates the musical magic carpet upon which acclaimed Canadian soprano Denise Williams truly soars. Williams, a 30-year veteran of the concert, opera, and theatre stage, has electrified audiences from Canada to Cuba, and many points in between. Moving effortlessly between vocal styles, Denise Williams offers powerfully authentic renditions of the most beloved songs - all in a fresh, sometimes striking new musical context that will have audiences clamouring for more.
Melanatté is creamy, caffeinated, Canadian Classical Contemporary Crossover - not Soul Food, but Soul Beverage. Sip - and enjoy!