bio

Two hours after informing his voice teacher that he was leaving the world of classical music, Randall Williams graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium at the head of his class.

He felt that classical music lacked the inclusiveness of folk music, and that the inevitable division between performer and audience was unbearable. And so Randall returned to the world of traveling with his guitar, writing songs in train stations and sleeping on couches, then singing and playing on street corners, cafés, and pubs. For a time he lived aboard a 20' sailboat that he bought for $800, teaching himself how to sail by single-handing through the Baltic and North Seas with his guitar sleeping in the berth beside him at night. He wrote a book about the trip, which begins with the story of almost getting squashed by a tanker before dawn one morning in the North Sea.

He moved to North Africa, then set off across the Sahara by hitching with locals - bouncing through a minefield on the way that made his mother have bad dreams. He loved the adventure, but he missed the music.

In 2005, Randall returned stateside to scrounge up a career as a performing songwriter, hoping it wasn't too late. So far, it hasn't been. As the "Partial Capo Guy," Randall has written two books for Hal Leonard, recorded a DVD for Kyser Musical Products, and given workshops at some of the biggest festivals in United States. As a performer, Randall has been a finalist in the Founder's Title and Mid-Atlantic Song Contests, A regional finalist at Kerrville, a showcase artist at Northeast and Midwest Folk Alliance, and at the International Folk Alliance in Memphis, and an Audience Favorite at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. His 2007 live release, "One Night in Louisiana" made a respectable dent in the folk DJ charts (One single, "Lebanon," was #8 in May,) and he's generally a nice guy to have around, capos or not.

Randall is as much at home in a Bangkok slum or a Senegalese village, at the Kennedy Center in D.C. or the Fine Arts Palace in Brussels sandwiched between a twitchy orchestra and a full house, or shoeless on the floor of your living room. Randall has sung in a dozen languages in over 35 countries.

Lynne Andrews: "When Randall left the confines of classical music largely behind, they lost a great talent, but the world gained a good friend - a friend who will tell its stories with grace, compassion, humility and humor."

songs, like poetry, paintings, sermons, and dance, happen because they have to. emotions pile up until they've reached a critical mass, then they come out to greet the world like a new butterfly, or like hot magma, or something in between. the bottom line: we do it because we have to.

when the russian military opened up the sunken submarine kursk in october 2000, they found a letter that lieut. capt. dimitri kolesnikov had scribbled in the dark -"i am writing blindly" - as the icy water began to flood the compartment where he was trapped. he used the last moments of his life to communicate to his wife.

i was a fledgling guitar player when i began writing songs - i did it for the same reason dimitri wrote that letter - because i had to. i wrote about what i felt most strongly. The breakup songs were the easiest, the social commentary songs, the stories, all that comes out too.

guitar teacher

i began playing guitar seriously in 1988, and played my first open mic one year later. i kept playing and learning more and more. i began teaching guitar in 1992, while studying musical composition, analysis, and performance. i got my undergraduate music degree in 1996, then studied flamenco for about a year (1997) before beginning studies at the royal conservatory of music in mons, belgium.

from 1998 to 2001, i studied voice, analysis, and harmony at the conservatory, with classical guitar lessons on the side for about 6 months. my undergraduate study and the conservatory courses added a degree of musical structure to my improvisational ability, and gave me a strong music theory base. i recieved the primière prix for concert singing from the conservatory in 2001.

my most recent discoveries: how to build a structure for creating chords in open tunings, and learning how to structure placement of partial capos in standard and alternate tunings. see a video about this on www.kysershortcut.com.

baritone

Two hours after informing his teacher that he was leaving the world of classical music, Randall Williams graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium at the head of his class.

He felt that classical music lacked the inclusiveness of folk music, and that the inevitable division between performer and audience was unbearable. And so Randall returned to the world of traveling with his guitar, writing songs in train stations and aboard sailboats, then singing and playing on street corners, cafés, and pubs.

But art song wouldn’t let him go.

Randall was a finalist in the only classical competition he ever entered, the 3rd annual Alexander Tansman competition in Lotz Poland. The program was in Polish, German, and Japanese.

He’s sung for orchestral performances, including a Christmas program in the Fine Arts Palace in Brussels, Faure’s Requiem, Bach’s Magnificat and Easter Oratorio, and a number of chamber ensemble pieces including Bach’s Cantata 82, Ich Habe Genung. He continues to sing solo works for church service and the occasional concert.

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art song began for me at age 19, thanks to dr. robert rockabrand. two years later, i gave my first art song recital, which was almost my last. my friend heidi howes (who also began her musical life as a folkie) sent me a tape of her recital, and inspired me to give it another try.

i decided to begin classical voice at the royal conservatory of music in mons, belgium. while still in tokyo, soprano akiko shimizu coached me for the entrance exam, which i passed in the fall of 1998. i studied concert and opera singing under loretta clini until my graduation in 2001. influential during this time were professors guy van waas (for whom i sang bach's magnificat, cantata 82, and easter oratorio) and composer viktor kissine, who was my professor of analysis. in 2000, i was a finalist in the aleksander tansman competition in lotz, poland.

after graduation, i studied with jane randolph and stephen salters. since the conservatory i've sung with the carols for christmas orchestra (2002) under stephen collins, and terra nova, under etienne rappe (2003). there's a cut of my classical work on the music page.