The Braw and The Brave is a podcast about people and their passions
Episode 214 is in conversation with award-winning composer Gareth Williams. From growing up in Armagh to studying in Belfast, before moving to Glasgow to continue his education in music composition, Gareth’s love of storytelling has seen him create a hugely impressive and extensive body of work to date. With ten operas under his belt, he has collaborated on a number of projects that endeavour to challenge the medium of opera, breathing life into untapped stories, introducing new audiences to the genre. As Composer in Residence at Scottish Opera from 2011 to 2014, alongside creating a series of operas, Gareth also established Breath Cycle at the respiratory ward of Gartnavel Royal Hospital, working with patients with Cystic Fibrosis. Breath Cycle was nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Award in 2015 and the project now supports those dealing with Long Covid.
With a self-confessed obsession with ‘writing wee tunes and telling wee stories’, during the pandemic, Gareth was inspired to compose a stunning album entitled Songs From The Last Page, which both showcases Scottish literature and explores the relationship between text and song. Released in August 2023, he has subsequently toured a number of venues across Scotland bringing the stories and songs to both music and book lovers alike.
Documenting his fascinating musical journey to date from playing in piano bars to writing an opera staged in a lighthouse, for Gareth Williams it’s always about the people, the places and the stories.
Links
Linktree
https://linktr.ee/gareth_composer
Website
https://www.garethwilliamsmusic.com/
Breath Cycle II- the Composer’s Songbook
https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/join-in/breath-cycle/the-covid-composers-songbook/
Rocking Horse Winner soundtrack
https://tapestryopera.bandcamp.com/album/rocking-horse-winner
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