Derek Williams

Derek Leslie Williams (born 20 September 1952) is a New Zealand-born Scottish composer, orchestrator, conductor and record producer. He was awarded a doctorate by the University of Edinburgh under Nigel Osborne and Peter Nelson for composition of his eponymous opera, Wilde, and he is a Fellow of Trinity College London. Williams is a civil rights activist also known for his 'Save Sibelius' campaign in the United Kingdom (2012–2013). Since 2007, he has taught Composition and Orchestration at the Edinburgh University Reid School of Music. He is also Chair of the Wagner Society of Scotland, a member of the International Association of Wagner Societies.

Williams first came to public notice in 1974, when he founded the New Zealand School of Music through which he established the first non-university tertiary level qualification for conductors of music in the Southern Hemisphere. As arranger, orchestrator, conductor and musician commissioned by international artists Caroline O'Connor, Sir Robert Helpmann, Torvill and Dean, Grace Knight, Frank Bennett, Debbie Newsome, Sir Howard Morrison, and prominent Australian screen composers Martin Armiger, Guy Gross, and Antony Partos, Williams is also known for his reorchestrations of tracks from hit records. His commissions have been performed in the Royal Albert Hall, Garrick Theatre and Kings Place (London), at the Sydney Opera House and Hamer Hall, Melbourne, Australia, and at the Montreux Jazz Festival. As a chorister, he performed in the 640 voice Third International Choral Festival at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts under Robert Shaw with Peter Godfrey's Auckland University Festival Choir, as well as at The White House, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the United Nations and at Westminster Abbey and King's College Chapel, Cambridge.

Williams was the orchestrator and conductor of the Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra for Guy Gross's score for Stephan Elliott's Frauds, starring Phil Collins, Hugo Weaving and Josephine Byrnes, and was choral and instrumental arranger of Gross's score for Elliott's Oscar winning film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He was the orchestrator and conductor for Martin Armiger's score for The Crossing, starring Russell Crowe, and was orchestrator for Antony Partos' score for Crush, winner of Best Film Score at New Zealand Film and TV Awards. Williams was arranger and conductor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation multi-platinum album Vince Jones & Grace Knight – Come in Spinner from the ABC miniseries Come in Spinner for record producer Martin Armiger, which won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. He was producer, arranger and conductor for Frank Bennett's EMI Music album Cash Landing, nominated at ARIA Music Awards of 1999 for Best Adult Contemporary Album. He was composer for Ruaridh M. Turner's The Beast in the Storm, which won Order of Merit in the Indie Fest and Best Action/Thriller/SciFi – Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards. In 2021 he was conductor of the Linlithgow String Orchestra and Abbotsford String Orchestra.

Derek Williams & Sir Michael Palin (President Royal Geographical Society) at the 2012 AGM. (Photo: Russell McGuirk)

Born 1952 of Agnes ('Nancy') Williams (née Anderson) of Bathgate, Scotland (office clerk) and New Zealander Edward ('Ted') Williams (farmer). Early childhood in Gisborne, New Zealand and Rotorua, studied at Rosmini College (Auckland) 1964–1970. Studied Music 1971–74 at University of Auckland under Charles Nalden, Douglas Mews and Peter Godfrey, winning the Professor Hollinrake Memorial Scholarship and Senior Scholarship Award as BMus graduate. Studied piano with Mary Nathan, Milford. Admitted Fellow of Trinity College, London in 1977.

Descended from Henry Williams, a missionary, and Marianne Coldham, an educator, Williams' grandfather, Claud Williams, was a noted explorer of the Libyan Egyptian desert during World War 1 who was awarded the Military Cross for his Report on the Military Geography of the North-Western Desert of Egypt (War Office Handbook), used by the Long Range Desert Group in the Tobruk campaign against Rommel. In 2010, the Royal Geographical Society co-opted Williams as family representative for its publication of Claud's autobiographical memoir, Light Car Patrols 1916–19, and he was guest speaker at the 2013 book launch.

New Zealand

International choral tour

World tour as a chorister with the 40-voice Auckland University Festival Choir, conducted by Professor Peter Godfrey, a Kings College, Cambridge alumnus and founder of the New Zealand Choral Federation and the Symphonia of Auckland. During the 3rd International University Choral Festival, at the United Nations, the choir participated in a massed chorus of 16 international choirs conducted by Willi Gohl, followed by a concert of 640 voices on 30 April 1972 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts New York under Robert Shaw. During the US tour, the choir also performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and at a White House reception with the First Lady, Pat Nixon, on the eve of the breaking of the Watergate scandal. In the United Kingdom, the Festival Choir performed at Westminster Abbey and at Kings College, Cambridge in a joint concert with King's College Choir with Sir David Willcocks. They were met by composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears for the choir's recital at the Snape Maltings and the choir won praise for its performances in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore. Lauded as the "best choir New Zealand has produced", Godfrey's Festival Choir continues to hold decennial reunions, and there has been a CD re-release of its LP, recorded straight after the world tour.

New Zealand School of Music

In 1974, Williams founded and until 1978 was governing director of the New Zealand School of Music Ltd under the patronage of the Mayor of Auckland, Sir Dove-Myer Robinson and with the conductor of the Symphonia of Auckland, Maestro Juan Matteucci, he established the first non-university tertiary level qualification for conductors of music in the Southern Hemisphere, followed by a similar course for percussionists.

Rotorua

During his tenure as teacher in charge of Music at Rotorua Boys' High School from 1979 to 1985, Williams was also keyboards player for Sir Howard Morrison. In 1984, Williams was seconded from teaching to work as a computer programmer of educational applications for New Zealand schools on the Poly-1 that allowed New Zealand educators to design and deliver curricula on class computer networks.

Aloha

In 1981 Williams was orchestrator and musical director for the world première and cast album of Eaton Magoon Jr and Sir Robert Helpmann's Hawaiian musical Aloha, starring Derek Metzger and directed by Robert Young for Hamilton Operatic Society at the Founders Theatre. Aloha received favourable reviews, with the New Zealand Herald reporting, "Derek Williams' orchestra helps to make the evening a success," and a cast recording produced by Carl Doy was made of the show.The world premiere was followed in 1985 by a Michael Edgley revival production at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland, directed by Joe Layton, also starring Metzger and Hollywood actress Patricia Morison, with Williams continuing as production arranger and musical director.

Australia

From 1985, Williams was musical director and keyboards player for productions at Australia's Wonderland, Phillip Street Theatre, Glen Street Theatre and Sydney Theatre Restaurants Ltd and from 1985 to 1988 he was orchestrator for the Australian Singing Competition, initially at the Sydney Opera House. He was also a keyboards player for over 400 performances of Cats for Cameron Mackintosh at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, the longest running show in Australian history, and for its 1994 revival by the Really Useful Group at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. Following the success of ABC's Come in Spinner TV miniseries and platinum spin-off album Vince & Grace, Williams was musical director and arranger for the opening concert of Grace Knight's promotional tour for Kevin Jacobsen, as well as for tours with Perfect Match star, Debbie Newsome.

Williams was an early adopter and exponent of digital music technology, using two Kurzweil K250 ROM sample instruments in his orchestrations for the ill-fated Australian Bicentenary musical Manning Clark's History of Australia - The Musical, one of whose composers was record producer and film composer Martin Armiger. Williams thereafter began working with Armiger in various roles for 15 film and TV scores and was also orchestrator and conductor for leading screen composers Guy Gross and Antony Partos.

In 1989, Williams and Armiger were called as expert witnesses in the Federal Court of Australia supporting a copyright infringement case brought by Guy Gross against CBS Records Australia Limited and Collette Roberts, with the court finding in the defendants' favour. Also in 1989, Williams was choral arranger and pianist for Torvill and Dean's album Here We Stand, produced by Kevin Stanton, and recorded while Christopher Dean was laid up in Sydney, recuperating from a torn ligament.

From 1995 to 1997, Williams was musical director and Conductor of the Orchestra and Choir of the Waverley-Randwick Philharmonic Society, while studying conducting with Myer Fredman.

In 1998, Williams was record producer, arranger and conductor for Frank Bennett's album Cash Landing for EMI Music Australia, which was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album (1999) and from 1989 to 2006, he was a Higher School Certificate examiner and advisor in Music and Computing Studies for the New South Wales Board of Studies while teaching at Randwick Boys High School (1985–2006).

The Night of 1000 Voices 2007 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, starring Caroline O'Connor.

In 2005, Williams began a long-standing association with Caroline O'Connor as arranger for her show End of the Rainbow at the Sydney Opera House and for her album A Tribute to Garland recorded at the Opera House, and launched in an outdoor big band concert in Sydney's Taronga Park with Williams as keyboardist. Williams was also commissioned as arranger for her debut performance at Kander and Ebb –The Night of 1000 Voices 2007 at the Royal Albert Hall, subsequently for her Garrick Theatre season of The Showgirl Within, and for the opening of Hamer Hall, Melbourne.

Scotland

Nigel Osborne Balkans Music Therapy camps. From left:
Derek Williams, Nigel Osborne, Ermin Elezovic at the rebuilt Mostar Bridge.

It Was 50 Years Ago Today Bootleg Beatles concert.
From left: Mimi Serbedzija, Nigel Osborne, Derek Williams at Echo Arena.

Derek Williams conducting 'McOpera' (Scottish Opera) Orchestra with Calma Carmona recording Glenfiddich 21yo whisky ad at Gorbals Sound.

From left: Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner with Derek Williams, Scottish delegate at the 2019 RWVI Congress in Venice.

Williams was répétiteur and assistant conductor for Edinburgh Grand Opera's production of Faust, and was musical director for the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group's production of Salad Days for the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He was also Funding Manager for Edinburgh Studio Opera and the Edinburgh Contemporary Music Ensemble.

In 2008, Williams joined with Nigel Osborne in his Balkans Music Therapy camps in Mostar and Rakovica for Bosnian War orphans, on behalf of Edinburgh University. He was also commissioned by Osborne to create Vienna Symphonic Library transcriptions of his orchestral arrangements for the Bootleg Beatles concerts It Was Fifty Years Ago Today, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall and Echo Arena Liverpool.

In 2013, Williams' one act opera Medea received its world premiere at the Edinburgh Jazz Bar during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was repeated at Edinburgh University's Reid Concert Hall.

In 2015, Williams was arranger, conductor and composed additional music for the Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Whisky ad campaign featuring Calma Carmona performing the Franz Ferdinand song Love Illumination with the orchestra of the Scottish Opera arranged and conducted by Williams, which gained 1.7 million hits on YouTube. In 2018, the Hindemith Trio commissioned and performed the world premiere of Williams' The Traveller for the Fondazione Giorgio e Aurora Giovannini at the Parma Conservatory, Italy.

Williams was elected Chair of the Wagner Society of Scotland in 2017, and has presented lectures on The Third Reich, Wahnfried, Siegfried Wagner and the Christianity of Richard Wagner. He represents the Society at the Bayreuth Festival and at the annual RWVI Congress.

After having worked with New Zealand Labour Party MP Fran Wilde in support of her Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, from 1990 Williams became involved with LGBT rights in New South Wales, initially as a witness for a discrimination case brought by Redjoy Pty Ltd (trading as 'Gai Expectations') against Sydney City Council Employees Credit Union, interviewed on Nine Network's A Current Affair by Eric Campbell.

In 1991, amid a spate of murders of gay men by school-age youths, Williams co-founded and was six times re-elected co-convenor of the Gay & Lesbian Teachers & Students Association (GaLTaS), established to publicise widespread problems of anti-gay bullying and violence in Australian schools, and to provide support to its victims. Early in his co-convenorship of GaLTaS, Williams, a co-lobbyist and some of the affected LGBT+ students were granted a meeting by New South Wales Education Minister Virginia Chadwick at the New South Wales Parliament. He was later interviewed with Chadwick by Quentin Dempster on The 7.30 Report, following which she announced new Anti-Discrimination Procedures for Students to help affected students obtain redress and to complete their education.

In March 1992, Williams featured as a guest representing GaLTaS in a televised dinner hosted by Australian actress Sophie Lee on the Nine Network's TV series Sex episode "Homosexuality", together with Festival of Light politician and outspoken LGBT+ rights opponent Fred Nile, as well as representatives from the Parents and Citizens (P&C) and the Australian Medical Association (AMA). Williams was subsequently interviewed with AMA President Kerryn Phelps on the Today Show concerning ongoing issues of school homophobia.

In March 1993, after GaLTaS was awarded a Federal National Youth Grant of $30,000 (=c.$68,300 equivalent in 2023) by the Australian Government,female GaLTaS co-convenor Jacqui Griffin's The SchoolWatch Report : A Study into Anti-Lesbian and Anti-Gay Harassment and Violence in Australian Schools (with Epilogue by Derek Williams), was launched in 1995 at Randwick Boys High School (where Williams taught) by Virginia Chadwick.

Following the launch of the Griffin SchoolWatch Report, Williams established the SchoolWatch Committee comprising representatives from the New South Wales Department of Education, the New South Wales Parents and Citizens Association, MP Clover Moore, the New South Wales Teachers Federation, the Independent Education Union, and the New South Wales Anti-discrimination Board to address ongoing issues of school bullying, suicidal ideation, suicide among LGBT youth and homicide by students, via workshops, teacher training and books in schools programmes. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Attitude program and Channel 9's 60 Minutes broadcast television documentaries covering GaLTaS' endeavours to keep LGBT+ students at school. From May 1993, Williams began to call on the parliament to remove private schools' LGBT+ related exemptions from the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.

In March 1997, the Nine Network's 60 Minutes programme ran a documentary on the homophobic bullying of 13-year-old Christopher Tsakalos, interviewing Williams, Christopher and his mother Vicky Tsakalos, in which students at Cranebrook High School were filmed yelling abuse across the school playground. The story was followed up both in Australia's major mastheads, and internationally. In February 1997, Williams raised the Tsakalos case in his address to the Parliament of Australia forum on youth suicide convened by then Prime Minister, John Howard, working with PFLAG who also attended.

During the Justice James Roland Wood Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service, Williams represented GaLTaS in submissions on behalf of LGBT+ teachers and students, and was again interviewed on the 7:30 Report by Quentin Dempster. In December, Williams was a GaLTaS witness in Jacqui Griffin's successful discrimination case against the Sydney Catholic Education Office, adjudicated by the Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission under Chris Sidoti.

In 1998, GaLTaS was absorbed into the New South Wales Teachers Federation as a Special Interest Group, with Williams as a founding member. Since 2008, Williams has been active in LGBT+ politics in Scotland and in 2018, was co-opted as Meetings Secretary of the Edinburgh University Staff Pride Network.

Filmography

Commissioning composers: Martin Armiger, Guy Gross, Antony Partos, Roy Hubermann, David Kimber

Commissioning organisations: Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Nine Network, EMI Music Australia, Festival Mushroom Records, Picture This Music, John Singleton Ltd

Derek Williams credited as Arranger, Orchestrator, Composer, Associate Composer, Conductor or Musician in the following moving image works:

Film

• The Beast in the Storm, Turner Gang, (2016) composer, orchestrator, musician, audio engineer
• Hildegarde, Screen Australia, (2001) orchestrator
• Empire, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, (1997) orchestrator
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, (1994) orchestrator
• Frauds, J & M Entertainment, (1993) orchestrator, conductor, composer – additional music
• Crush, Australian Film Council, (1992) orchestrator
• Blinky Bill, Yoram Gross Productions, (1992) orchestrator, conductor
• The Crossing, Beyond International Group, (1990) orchestrator, conductor, piano, composer – additional music
• Ring of Scorpio, Film Finance Corporation Australia, BBC Television, and Nine Network, (1990) orchestrator, conductor, composer – additional music
• The Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy, Seven Network, (1989) arranger, orchestrator

Television

• Glenfiddich 21yo – TV & Online Media Campaign (2015) composer additional music, arranger/orchestrator, conductor, mixing and mastering engineer
• Hard Knox, Peter Bloomfield, (2001) orchestrator, composer – additional music
• Thank God He Met Lizzie, Stamen Films Ltd, (1997) orchestrator
• Seven Deadly Sins, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, (1993) arranger, musician
• The Other Side of Paradise, Network Ten, (1992) orchestrator, conductor, composer – additional music
• Children of the Dragon, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, based on Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, (1991) orchestrator, conductor
• Police Rescue, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, (1992) composer – additional music, arranger, keyboard programming
• Come in Spinner, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, (1990) arranger, orchestrator, conductor
• Body Surfer, Ian Barry (1989) orchestrator, conductor, musician
• The Last Resort, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, (1988) orchestrator, conductor, composer – additional music
• Seven Network TV Sports ID's, and Station ID Let's Celebrate '88 (1988)

Documentary

• Mail Porter, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, (2015) composer, orchestrator, musician, audio engineer
• Plot for Peace, (2013) orchestrator – Empire
• The Making of Longbird, Edinburgh College of Art (2012) musician
• Black Swan, Antony Partos (1995) orchestrator
• Widows, Roy Hubermann – Australian movie (1994) arranger, orchestrator
• The Wonderful World of Dogs, Mark Lewis, (1990) composer – additional music
• In Grave Danger of Falling Food, 220 Productions – Bill Mollison (1989) composer, arranger, orchestrator, musician
• Flashbacks, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1988) audio engineer

PhD, BMus, DipEd, FTCL, LMusTCL, DipTeach(NSW), DipTchg(NZ)