Meet Beth Williams
Our Musical Director Bethan Williams joined us in the autumn of 2023. Beth is a London based soprano, singing teacher and choral conductor. Having read Music at the University of York, she now works as a singing teacher for St Paul’s Girls’ School.
She has had the pleasure of singing with Tippet Voices at the Barbican in Alice Oswald’s Memorial, and of dueting alongside Mark Padmore with Britten Sinfonia, in Benjamin Britten’s The Company of Heaven.
Below, Beth answers a few questions about working with Canbury Singers…
Q. How are the Canbury Singers different / unique?
Beth: It's unusual, and wonderful, for a choir of this size to have so many younger voices in it. It makes for a strength of sound that you don't usually get in other amateur groups.
Q. What excites you about working with the Canbury Singers?
Beth: An openness and enthusiasm for trying new things, combined with strong voices, numbers and musicianship means we're able to explore different genres successfully. We have been working on Durufle recently and we are looking at madrigals and folk for the future.
Q. What music inspires you as an MD and singer?
Beth: I most enjoy helping show amateur musicians what they're capable of. There is no great mystique to music! There is no 'can' or 'can't'. There is only, with a bit of thoughtfulness and guidance, the endless possibility of growth.
Q. What do you think makes a great choir performance?
Beth: When singers are able to get beyond just knowing their part, and engage with the conductor, the choir as a whole, and the music that they're communicating, then you're getting somewhere.
Q. What is your favourite Christmas carol?
Beth: The only traditional carol that we ever sang at my very middle-of-the-road primary school was O Little Town of Bethlehem. I didn't know anything about classical music, but knew that it was several times more beautiful than anything else I'd ever heard.
