May 21, 1919-September 27, 1997
Millard Williams’ remarkable career as a concert singer saw him performing in Bermuda, parts of Europe and Canada, as well as the U.S., where he eventually settled, over the course of 50 years.
He was a back-up singer for Harry Belafonte, toured the U.S. and Canada as a cast member in Porgy and Bess and also sang as a principal with the Metropolitan Opera Studio in New York and as a chorister with the Metropolitan Opera House.
He maintained a busy schedule as a concert singer, while working full-time as a printer for the New York Times for nearly 30 years.
Williams left the island in 1946 to pursue his dream of being a concert singer, but he maintained his ties to Bermuda, performing for local audiences during his frequent visits home.
Williams, who was born and raised on the North Shore, Pembroke East, was one of six children. His parents were Charles and Mary (Robinson) Williams.
Williams attended Central School and The Berkeley Institute, where he was a talented athlete in track and field, cricket and football. His passion for singing superseded his love of sports. Opera singers he heard on the radio inspired him.
He told The Royal Gazette in a 1983 interview: “I always wanted to be a performer, but I had no idea how to become one. Bermuda at the time didn’t see any concert artists, but I would listen to them on the radio.”
Williams sang at his family church, St. Paul AME, and at community concerts and recitals. He also studied with Berkeley Institute music teacher Joseph Richards, who taught voice and piano at his Hamilton studio.
Williams made his singing debut at age 18 at Inverurie Hotel, with pianist Lance Hayward as his accompanist. The two knew each other well—Williams was one of the original members of Hayward’s vocal ensemble, Hayward and Hayward.
Meanwhile, Williams had worked at the Bermuda Recorder since he was a teenager and his interest in printing grew into a career. In 1937, he sailed to New York to take an eight-month linotyping course in Brooklyn. On his return in April 1938, he resumed his employment with the Recorder, becoming the newspaper’s first linotypist.
Over the next few years, he continued to sing at church and community concerts—the Colonial Opera House was a popular venue. He also married Rita Preece, who was a talented singer in her own right.
In 1946, the couple moved to Toronto with their son Edwin so that Williams could take up studies at the Toronto Conservatory of Music (now the Royal Conservatory). During the couple’s seven years in Toronto, Williams won a prize at the Canadian National Exhibition, appeared in Canadian Broadcasting Corporation productions and also was a soloist at St Ann’s Anglican church.
He then set his sights on New York, where he subsequently moved with his family. The Recorder kept readers abreast of Williams’ progress.
In 1954, he toured the U.S. and Canada as a member of the chorus of Porgy and Bess. In 1956, he made his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall—a performance that was praised by critics of the New York Times and the Herald Tribune.
A year later, he gave a recital at New York’s Town Hall. The New York Times review said Williams had “a voice of basically good quality, a pleasing stage presence and, to judge from his carefully prepared program, intelligence and a capacity for work.”
The Times also said that he was “cordially received” by the audience. According to the Recorder, the concert was sponsored by the Bermuda Benevolent Association, an organization made up of Bermudians living in New York.
In 1959, Williams won a Martha Baird Rockefeller scholarship, which allowed him to study in England and Europe. Although based in London, he was constantly flying to France and Germany to perform. A concert he gave at Wigmore Hall in London drew praise in the Times of London.
Upon his return to the U.S., Williams settled in Teaneck, New Jersey, where he continued to pursue opportunities to perform. For 17 years, he was a member of Harry Belafonte’s chorus and sang on most of Belafonte’s recordings. He also sang in Ed Sullivan’s television chorus.
Williams was employed by the New York Times as a printer, retiring as a supervisor, but music was the central feature of his life. He was a member of Opus 3, a trio that began performing in 1968, and whose other members were distinguished musicians, bassist Larry Ridley and pianist Charles Warren. Opus 3 appeared in concert throughout New York and New Jersey as well as in Pennsylvania, Jackson, Mississippi and Bermuda.
Williams also sang with The Lance Hayward Singers, a choral ensemble which his old friend Lance Hayward had formed after his move to New York in 1966. The Lance Hayward Singers and Opus 3 occasionally performed in joint concerts together in New York and Bermuda.
Charles Warren, who was the organist at Central Unitarian Church where Williams was soloist for more than 26 years, remembered Williams as “an extremely talented musician and performing artist”.
He added: “Billed as a bass-baritone, Millard possessed a consistent, magnificent vocal tone quality, ranging from the depths of low bass to the heights of a baritone. A critic, David Spengler, wrote, ‘Williams presents each song, no matter what its style, as worth its salt.’
“Millard, who mastered singing many foreign languages, was especially noted for his German diction. In his later years, he toured Europe with a professional chorus based in New Jersey. During a concert in Germany, Millard represented the chorus by addressing the audience in German.”
Williams remained deeply attached to Bermuda despite having lived overseas for more than 50 years. He returned regularly to visit friends and family and to perform. Several of his Bermuda concerts were benefits for the formative institutions of his youth, St. Paul or Berkeley, or were held under their auspices.
In 1994, Williams returned home to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bermuda Arts Council.
He died three years later, on September 27, 1997, and his funeral was held at St. Paul AME Church. His wife Rita died just weeks later. Millard and Rita Williams were survived by their daughter Carla, a New York resident, and predeceased by their son Edwin, who died in New York at age 35.
