Jim Williams

Jim Williams, bass, is a versatile performer known for his powerful classical voice and his adept ability to handle multiple genres on stage. As a young artist with New York Lyric Opera Theater, he performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Opera America, and appeared as Colas in Bastien und Bastienne and Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro. Jim made his Washington, D.C. debut as Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with The IN Series and his Gilbert and Sullivan debut as the Sergeant of Police in Young Victorian Theatre Company’s Pirates of Penzance. Jim has also performed with the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA), Maryland Lyric Opera, Washington Opera Society, Opera Baltimore, Live Arts Maryland, Maryland Opera, and the Washington National Opera Chorus. After a nearly two-year break due to the pandemic shut down, Jim returned to the stage in Washington National Opera’s concert series Come Home: A Celebration of Return in November 2021. In January 2022, he joined an ensemble of WNO Cafritz Young Artists, WNO Choristers and local young artists to workshop Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s new opera, Grounded, along with librettist and renowned playwright George Brant. Jim is also sought out as a music educator, a background vocalist in studio recordings, a private vocal coach, and consultant throughout the Baltimore-Washington area. He received a Bachelor of Music degree with emphasis in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Oakwood University.