An evening with Roderick Williams & ORA Singers

Suzi Digby OBE and ORA Singers are joined by baritone and composer, Roderick Williams, for a special evening of conversation and music. Gain an insight into the life of one of Britain’s most distinguished musical voices, as Suzi explores Roderick’s early life, his eclectic career as a soloist and composer, and the landmarks of his story so far.

Listen to the award-winning voices of ORA perform a selection of music interspersed throughout the evening, featuring the works of Williams, alongside other composers with links to the city and University of Oxford through the ages.

You can join the conversation by submitting your questions to Roderick and Suzi ahead of the evening to info@artsfestivaloxford.org by no later than June 15^th 2025 with the subject line:  Roderick Williams Q&A

Programme

Roderick Williams Let Nothing Trouble You
Orlando Gibbons Drop, Drop, Slow Tears
William Walton A Litany
Orlando Gibbons O Clap Your Hands Together
John Sheppard Libera Nos, Salva Nos I
John Sheppard Libera Nos, Salva Nos II
Ryan Wigglesworth Libera Nos
Roderick Williams O Guiding Night
Kenneth Leighton Lully Lulla, Thou Little Tiny Child
Roderick Williams Ave Verum Corpus Reimagined

The award-winning ORA Singers is recognised for its modern take on the centuries-long choral tradition, and was born out of a belief that we are in a second golden age of choral music, matching that of the Renaissance. It is one of the world’s foremost commissioners of contemporary choral music, which it often performs alongside Renaissance masterpieces in its celebrated concerts and recordings. Described as ‘a musical comet’, ORA Singers has continued to blaze a trail as one of the UK’s leading vocal ensembles. Founded and directed by Suzi Digby OBE, the group was named Ensemble of the Year at the 2018 Opus Klassik Awards, and has received critical acclaim both for ‘unfailingly elegant’ performances and ‘superb and exciting’ recordings. They have won two Ivor Novello/British Composer Awards, one of which was for their commission of Roderick Williams’ Ave Verum Corpus Reimagined. ORA Singers‘  latest disc, Sanctissima, has just won the prestigeous Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik in 2024.

Roderick Williams is one of the most sought-after baritones of his generation and enjoys relationships with all the major UK and European opera houses.  He has sung world premieres of operas by, among others, David Sawer, Sally Beamish, Michael van der Aa, Robert Saxton and Alexander Knaifel as well as roles by Mozart, Britten and Strauss.  He has performed concert repertoire with many of the leading orchestras and ensembles internationally including the Berlin and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, London Symphony Orchestra and all of the BBC Orchestras.  In demand as a recitalist, he has performed at major venues worldwide and festival appearances have included BBC Proms (Last Night 2014), Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Aldeburgh and Melbourne.  In 2016 he won the RPS Singer award and the prize for best choral composition at the British Composer Awards.  He was awarded the OBE for services to music in 2017 and was one of the featured soloists at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

Suzi Digby OBE is an internationally renowned choral conductor and music educator. Born in Japan, she lived in Hong Kong, Mexico, and the Philippines before settling in the UK. Suzi has pioneered the revival of singing in UK schools and communities, founding several national organisations, including The Voices Foundation, Vocal Futures, Singing4Success, and London Youth Choir. In 2014, she launched The Golden Bridge in California, commissioning works that connect the renaissance age with the modern era. In 2016, she founded her professional vocal ensemble, ORA Singers, which won Germany’s Opus Klassik for Best Ensemble in 2018, and more recently the prestigious Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik for their 2023 album, Sanctissima.

Suzi has conducted major choral-orchestral works with ensembles such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. She was the official choral conductor for The Rolling Stones, coaching and leading choirs for their 50th Anniversary Tour. Suzi was Visiting Professor at USC and has received numerous honours, including an OBE and an honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen.