Brandon Williams | MusicSpoke
Dr. Brandon Williams is Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he conducts the Kirkpatrick Choir and the Rutgers University Glee Club. An active guest conductor, clinician, and presenter, he has appeared throughout the United States and abroad. Dr. Williams holds degrees from Western Illinois University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Michigan State University. He is the editor of Choral Reflections: Insights from American Choral Conductor-Teachers, and his work has been published in the Choral Journal, Music Educators Journal, and the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. He also curates The Brandon Williams Choral Series with Gentry Publications. Dr. Williams currently serves as the Tenor/Bass Choirs Repertoire & Resources Chair for the ACDA Eastern Region, and he is a member of ACDA, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, Chorus America, and ASCAP. Founded in 1872, the Rutgers University Glee Club is one of the oldest tenor-bass choirs in the United States. The ensemble has become known for its recordings, powerful performances, international tours, and innovative programming. The Glee Club has commissioned and premiered new works by major composers, helping to shape the modern repertoire for tenor-bass choirs. In 2000, the Rutgers Glee Club hosted the National Seminar of Intercollegiate Men's Choruses (IMC), spotlighting the event with the world premiere of The Miracle by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom. The ensemble has since been featured at IMC national seminars in 2004 and 2010. Through competitive selection, the Rutgers Glee Club has also performed at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conferences in 2001, 2017, and 2021, as well as ACDA Eastern Division Conferences in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2020. The Rutgers Glee Club has appeared on some of the nation's most prominent stages. In 2000, they performed Schoenberg's Gurrelieder under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle at Philadelphia's historic Academy of Music. The following year, the ensemble brought the New York premiere of Bolcom's The Miracle to Lincoln Center. In 2003, they collaborated with the Philadelphia Singers for a performance of Berlioz's Requiem at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. In 2006, the Rutgers Glee Club joined forces with the Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir and Rutgers Collegium to present Shostakovich's Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, and 13 with conductor Valery Gergiev and both the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Kirov Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall. In 2014, as part of the IMC conference hosted by Rutgers University, the ensemble performed Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra. Their most recent collaborative albums, Legends and Legacies and Threads of Eternity, are available on all major streaming platforms. Mission Statement Inspired by the legacy and vision of the Rutgers University Glee Club, the Brandon Willimas Choral Series offers compelling, varied, and well-crafted repertoire suitable for a wide range of tenor-bass ensembles. The selected works feature texts and themes that reflect the breadth and complexity of the human experience.
