Award winning artist, John Marcel Williams, is establishing a reputation as both a virtuoso concert artist, and devoted teacher. His performances as both a soloist and a chamber musician have brought him to audiences across the country and internationally. Guest artist appearances at guitar and chamber music festivals have also featured John as a teacher, where he has conducted masterclasses and worked with students from all over.
Williams first garnered attention at age 12 as a finalist in the GFA youth competition, and went on to win over 20 prizes at young artist competitions across the country. As a high schooler, he won first prize in the James Stroud competition. He also appeared on NPR’s “From the Top” and was a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship. John was named a winner in the 2020 Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Auditions.
As a guest artist for the Panama Guitar Festival, he toured the country giving numerous concerts and masterclasses. Other highlights include performances at Jordan Hall in Boston, Princeton University, Oberlin Conservatory, and in Quito, Ecuador. More recently, John was a featured artist for the 2019/20 season of the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society, and made his debut with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra performing Elmer Bernstein’s Guitar Concerto.
John started playing guitar at age 10, and began lessons with Stephan Aron, guitar professor at the Oberlin Conservatory a few years later. He entered the Peabody Conservatory when he was 16, in the studio of Manuel Barrueco, where he earned his bachelors and masters degree. He also received a fellowship to study with Sharon Isbin at the Aspen Music Festival in 2014. Currently, he is in his final year of the artist diploma program at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studies with David Starobin and Jason Vieaux.
