Bruce Williams, Viola

Bruce Williams began his professional career at age fifteen and four years later won a position with the Fort Worth Symphony. He soon won the principal violist position with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in Israel and was also a member of the Haifa Clarinet Trio, performing throughout Israel and Europe. Upon his return to the U.S., he accepted the assistant principal violist position with The Orchestra of Santa Fe and began concertizing throughout the U.S. as a member of the Allegro Chamber Trio. The Trio was featured on National Public Radio's Performance Today and recorded on Centaur records as the Meisenbach/Golden Duo. Bruce won the principal Viola position in the Austin Symphony Orchestra in 2000 and is a two-time finalist for the Austin Critics Table Outstanding Instrumentalist. In 2003, he won the award for his performance of Hector Berlioz' Harold in Italy with the ASO.

Bruce is the manager, as well as the founding member, of the Artisan String Quartet. The Artisans performed at Carnegie Hall in 2012, presented by MidAmerica Productions. They presently serve as Quartet in Residence with the Texas Bach Festival in Georgetown, where Bruce is the Director of Chamber Music; at Classical Sound Inc. where he serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors; at the Mason Chamber Music Festival and the Lampasas County Chamber Music Festival, where he is the founder and Artistic Director of both Festivals. Bruce enjoys a multi-faceted career and has shared the stage with world class performers such as Yo-Yo Ma, Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks, Cristopher Cross, and The Moody Blues. He performs regularly with the Early Music ensembles La Follia and Texas Early Music project, and is on multiple recordings with the Grammy winning vocal ensemble Conspirare, led by Craig Hella Johnson.