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William Howard Williams (born 25 April 1947) is a British conductor, whose international career has ranged from opera to orchestral and choral work. He conducts throughout Europe and has especial links with Hungary since his appointment in 1989 as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Pannon Philharmonic (formerly Pécs Symphony) Orchestra. Contents •	1 Education and early career •	2 Personal life •	3 External links

Education and career [edit] Howard Williams was educated at the King’s School Canterbury, New College Oxford, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) and Liverpool University. While still at school he studied the piano with Ronald Smith and the violin with Clarence Myerscough. Studying Music at Oxford, he began to conduct there – working equally with student orchestras and choirs. At the GSMD he studied on the Advanced Conducting Course, going on to take a BMus at Liverpool University. While at Liverpool he was Assistant Conductor to Bryden Thomson with the BBC Philharmonic (then BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra) in Manchester, where he also sang as a member of the BBC Northern Singers. In 1975 he joined English National Opera as a repetiteur, soon becoming employed within the company as conductor and Chorus Master. He has conducted fifteen productions for ENO, including the première of Iain Hamilton’s Anna Karenina. He has been Chief Conductor of the Hertfordshire Chamber Orchestra, Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra, Fairfield Concert Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic (Pécs), Oxford Orchestra da Camera, and is currently Music Director of the Sinfonia of Cambridge and of the Choir of the 21st Century (London). He has continuing relationships with various orchestras throughout Europe, particularly in Hungary. Howard Williams has been constantly involved with student organisations, and his period as Head of Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (2000-2006) enabled him to develop his approach to the teaching of conducting. He has been associated with youth orchestras throughout Europe and in the USA, helping to form the National Youth Orchestra of Syria in 2007. Personal life [edit] Howard Williams was married to Ruth Bridge (1972-4), then to Juliet Solomon (1977-2004) with whom he has two children, Rachel and Michael Solomon Williams. Since 2010 his partner has been Emma Kirkby, whom he married in 2015.

External links [edit] Personal website www.whowardwilliams.com