Back to "Home Page"Conductor/Musical
Director
Darren Williams
Darren was born in Bangor in 1977 and became a Cathedral Chorister at the age of nine and then went on to become a Lay-Clerk. In 2000 Darren moved south to Berkshire and became a member of the weekday choir at St. Mary’s Minster in Reading and from time to time accompanied the choir who sang a full cathedral-style Evensong on Wednesdays.
After a year in the south, Darren moved north to become a cathedral Lay-Clerk at Carlisle Cathedral. He now sings Evensong on a daily basis with the Cathedral Choir and since joining the ranks has toured with the choir to Paris and Ireland and most recently to Budapest. Since moving to Cumbria Darren has been in great demand as a soloist and has performed two lunch time recitals at the Cathedral. He has performed many times with the Cockermouth Harmonic Society, the latest being the alto solos in Orff’s "Carmina Burana." With the Wordsworth Singers, Darren has performed in a concert featuring the music of Purcell. In 2002 he sang the counter tenor solos in a performance of Bach’s wonderful setting of the "St. John’s Passion" in Carlisle Cathedral to much critical acclaim.
Darren performed in the Carlisle International Summer festival in 2005 with the Cathedral Lay-Clerks in a candlelight concert marking the 500 year anniversary of Thomas Tallis’ death. The concert included the "Lamentations of Jeremiah" and a rare performance of Tallis’ 40 part motet "Spem in Alium." At Easter 2005 Darren accompanied the Cathedral Choir alongside the Organ Scholar for the daily round of services while the Cathedral awaited the arrival of the new Assistant Organist. Darren is a founding member of Ensemble Buxtehude who perform every year at the beginning of July in St. John’s and St. Bega’s, Bassenthwaite, as part of the Bassenthwaite festival. In October 2006 Darren was appointed Organist and Director of Music at St. Cuthbert’s Church Carlisle and since Christmas has built up the Church Choir who now sing regularly for the Sunday services. Darren was appointed Musical Director of Cantonelle in April 2007.
