Jan Williams is a percussionist, arts administrator, teacher, conductor, and composer who has championed avant-garde and progressive music in the United States. He is recognized as an important proponent of percussion performance and its literature.
Biography
Williams first studied drums in elementary school in Utica, NY under George Claesgens. After experience playing snare drum in marching and concert bands, he began to study timpani while in high school. At Clarkson University, then called Clarkson College, he elected an Electrical Engineering major because his teachers discouraged music as a career. Within a year, he was out of school, and the following fall he entered the Eastman School of Music to study with William Street, who advised Williams to study the keyboard percussion instruments seriously. Sometime during that year at Eastman, Williams read a magazine article that praised the work of Paul Price, a percussion teacher at the Manhattan School of Music who was performing new music for percussion ensemble. In the Fall of 1959, Williams moved to New York City to study with Price at the Manhattan School of Music. He spent five years at the Manhattan School, earning a bachelor's degree and master's degree in music performance. From 1962 to 1964, he was a member of the American Symphony Orchestra under conductor Leopold Stokowski. In 1964, Williams was selected as one of the first Creative Associates at the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts at the University at Buffalo, which was founded by Lukas Foss and Music Department Chair, Allen Sapp. He remained at UB, where he created the Percussion Ensemble, with fellow Creative Associate percussionist, John Bergamo, continued an active performance career specializing in contemporary music and served as chair of the Music Department from 1981 to 1984. He retired in 1996 as Professor Emeritus. Williams also served as Artistic Director of the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts from 1974 to 1979 and as its resident conductor from 1976 to 1980. He co-directed, with Yvar Mikhashoff, the North American New Music Festival from 1983 to 1992. Williams has been featured as solo percussionist with orchestras in Paris, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, Detroit, New York City, Buffalo and Los Angeles and appears internationally as percussionist, conductor, and instructor. Noted composers Lukas Foss, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Morton Feldman, Iannis Xenakis, Frederic Rzewski, Nils Vigeland, Joel Chadabe, Luis De Pablo, Gustavo Matamoros, and Orlando Garcia have written works for him. His playing and conducting have been captured on numerous commercial and archival recordings. Williams was a member of the Percussion Jury for Germany's prestigious ARD International Music Competition in 1997, 2001 and 2014. In 2014 the Burchfield Penney Art Center celebrated Williams' 75th birthday with a special tribute concert. Williams conducted colleagues and former students in a performance of Edgard Varèse's iconic percussion composition, Ionization. Williams' wife Diane was a violist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for 28 years. He has two daughters, Elizabeth Williams, a Nurse Practitioner and Amy Williams, a composer and pianist.
Performance
Williams has appeared professionally as a percussionist and conductor in the United States and internationally.
As Percussionist (selected listing)
Member of Creative Associates, Center of the Creative and Performing Arts, University at Buffalo, 1964-1980 with John Bergamo, George Crumb, and founder Lukas Foss, along with over 100 other "CAs"
Member of the Feldman Soloists with pianist Nils Vigeland and flutist Eberhard Blum
Premiered Morton Feldman's Why Patterns?, Crippled Symmetry, and For Philip Guston and performed them extensively with the Feldman Soloists in Europe, the Middle East and the United States
Premiered Lukas Foss' Paradigm, Ni Bruit, Ni Vitesse, Concerto for Percussion and Large or Small Orchestra, Curriculum Vitae with Time Bomb, and MAP
Premiered Elliott Carter's Adagio and Canto from Eight Pieces for Solo Timpani
Performed internationally and recorded numerous works by Earle Brown, Morton Feldman, John Cage, and Christian Wolff
Williams has recorded for Columbia, Vox/Turnabout, Desto, Lovely Music, Spectrum, Wergo, DGG, Orion, Hat-Art, OO, New World, Deep Listening, EMF Media, Frozen Reeds and Mode Records.
As Conductor (selected listing)
Resident Conductor, Center of the Creative and Performing Arts, 1976-1980
Numerous master classes, lectures, workshops and seminars at colleges, universities and music conservatories in USA, Europe, South America, New Zealand and Australia
