His song recital – An English Song Winterreise – now available to watch until 30 May

Residency has included BSO Participate outreach work with local pupils

 

Acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams has concluded his year-long tenure as Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s Artist-in-Residence.

Roddy, who received an OBE in 2017 for services to music and performed at the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023, bowed out after a final performance with the BSO at Lighthouse, Poole this week.

He joined the BSO, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and soloists soprano Talise Trevigne, mezzo-soprano Anita Monserrat and tenor Joshua Stewart under the command of chief conductor Mark Wigglesworth for BSO: Lost In Innocence, this week. The performance included Aaron Copland’s 1945 orchestral suite Appalachian Spring and Sir Michael Tippett’s wartime secular oratorio A Child of Our Time.

His recent song recital with pianist Christopher Glynn – which recreates Schubert’s famous Winterreise song cycle with music written by British composers – wowed audiences at Lighthouse, Poole. It is available to watch online until 30 May.

Roddy, who began his career as a classroom music teacher before taking up singing seriously in his late 20s, has also taken part in BSO Participate events during his residency.

On Tuesday, he visited pupils at Longfleet CE Primary School, joining an assembly and sharing in a workshop with pianist Simon Gilliver and music leader Hazel Gould.

 

Music teacher, Kate Wright, described it: “The staff and pupils who heard Roddy’s singing were spellbound by his beautiful voice, especially those very low notes! We have many young singers and instrumentalists who were inspired by seeing what is possible with dedication and practice. The Year 3 pupils who did the workshop were so excited to share their ideas and perform their own music. The creative juices were definitely flowing and I know that some of them were excited to go home and write another song. These magical moments are the ones that stay with our pupils and have an impact that lasts well beyond the day that they happen, thank you so much!”

 

He also joined the BSO Participate team on its regular work with Southampton Hospitals Charity, performing for staff, visitors and patients of all ages.

Roderick followed in the footsteps of previous Artists-in-Residence such as pianist Gabriela Montero, violinist Alena Baeva, and the exceptional German horn player Felix Klieser.

 

Dougie Scarfe OBE, CEO of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, said: “Each season the BSO is proud to work with an extraordinarily talented musician as our Artist-in-Residence – and I can honestly say that Roddy has been an absolute star.

“We were tremendously fortunate to acquire the services of one of the UK’s most sought-after baritones who is constantly in demand worldwide on the concert platform and in recital.

“Roddy’s work with our own talented musicians and out in the community as part of BSO Participate programme has been completely inspirational and we will treasure the memory of his time here.”

 

Details of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s 2026/27 season have now been announced. Highlights include the launch of a two-year Beethoven series, the arrival of Grammy-award winning Thomas Adès as ‘Celebrated Composer’ and Gramophone award-winning pianist Boris Giltburg as Artist-in-Residence – plus, the arrival of new Calleva Assistant Conductor, Michal Oren.

 

Watch Roddy’s An English Song Winterreise online before 30 May. General booking for the Orchestra’s new season opens on 27 May.  See bsolive.com for full details.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information please contact:
Cliff Moore | Cliff.Moore@deepsouthmedia.co.uk | 07469 158458 or Claire Rawles | crawles@bsorchestra.co.uk | 07860 776646

Anita Monserrat, Talise Trevigne, Joshua Stewart, Mark Wigglesworth and Roddy Williams at Lighthouse, Poole (c)Mark Allan

Roderick Williams visits Longfleet Primary School (c)BSO