Williams joined the Voice Faculty at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee as Assistant Professor of Voice in the Fall of 2014. If you are interested in working with him privately or as an undergraduate/graduate voice student at APSU, contact him here. Find out more about Austin Peay’s Music Department, here.
Williams teaches the following courses:
Individual Voice Instruction – every semester
Opera Literature – Fall 2018 (every other Fall)
English / Latin Diction for Singers – Fall 2017 (4-semester rotation)
Italian Diction for Singers – Spring 2018 (4-semester rotation)
French Diction for Singers – Fall 2018 (4-semester rotation)
German Diction for Singers – Spring 2019 (4-semester rotation)
Arioso and Recitative – Spring 2018 (non-regular)
Directed Study: Teaching the Male Voice – Spring 2015 (non-regular)
Directed Study: Russian Diction and Vocal Repertoire – Fall 2015 (non-regular)
Directed Study: Baritone Song Cycle Masterworks – Fall 2016 (non-regular)
Trusting a voice to a teacher is a major commitment and should not be done without first understanding how that teacher goes about culturing a voice. I follow the instruction of my great, late teacher, Tom Krause. Here are some thoughts:
– We are not the “doers.” Refuse to work. Allow yourself to be sung.
– Any manipulation is arrogance. Nature does not need to be manipulated.
– There are two great loves: the love of the breath, and the love of the vowel.
– The image is infinitely more powerful than the muscles.
– The most effective artist is the one who is totally vulnerable.
Additionally…
– Learning to sing is a process. Unlike much of today’s world, singing does not involve instant gratification.
– Technique in singing is a constantly renewing, continually adapting, incremental journey.
– I respect that each singer is unique and has their own special set of abilities.
– The study of singing requires a commitment of time and effort. The student who does not plan to practice should not plan to study.
– I do not measure accomplishments in singing based on how much and what repertoire is learned. Furthermore, I am not a “learn through repertoire” style teacher.