TODD WILLIAMS
HORN
Internationally acclaimed horn player Todd Williams is a leading exponent of the Historically Informed Natural Horn. An active performer and educator based in Philadelphia, he serves as Principal Horn of numerous ensembles across the country, including Boston Baroque, The Handel + Haydn Society, Philharmonia Baroque (San Francisco), Apollo’s Fire (Cleveland), Mercury (Houston), Opéra Lafayette (Washington, D.C.), Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia), and the Boston Early Music Festival, where he was recently a contributing solo artist on the GRAMMY Award-winning Best Classical Solo Vocal Album 2026. He has also appeared as guest principal with ensembles such as The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The English Concert (London), Tafelmusik (Toronto), and the Chamber Players of the Smithsonian Institute. He was a judge for the inaugural ‘Natural Horn Competition’ sponsored by the International Horn Society held in Ghent, Belgium, and is on faculty at The Juilliard School in New York. Equally comfortable on the valve horn, he regularly performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra and is Associate Principal Horn of the Philadelphia Ballet. His extensive recording credits include such labels as Deutsche Grammophon, RCA/Sony, Chaconne/Chandos, Naxos, Musica Omnia, Avie, CPO, Friends of the Smithsonian, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Apple TV, and 20th Century Studios, where he recently recorded the movie soundtrack for The Devil Wears Prada 2.
She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2016 as the Madrigal Singer in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and has since sung at the Glyndebourne Festival (Dryad/Ariadne); Seattle Opera (Ursula/Beatrice et Benedict); Opera Columbus (Carmen) and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (Cherubino/Nozze di Figaro). This season, Avery will sing Alcina/Bradamante, at Glyndebourne and in her house and role debut for the Hannover Staatsoper, as well as Irene/Bajazet for Portland Opera. On the concert platform Avery will open the season with the world premiere of ‘The Listeners’ by Caroline Shaw on a US concert tour with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Avery will also sing Messiah with Bernard Labadie and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, perform Mahler 2 at Salisbury Cathedral and record her debut solo album, also with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.
Recent concerts include Dido and Aeneas at the Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam with Early Opera Company, Vivaldi arias with the Orchestra of St Luke’s in New York; Mozart’s Requiem with the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Bramwell Tovey; Bach’s St John Passion and Duruflé’s Requiem with the Voices of Ascension, New York; Berlioz Les Nuits D’été and Brahms Alto Rhapsody with the American Classical Orchestra, and concerts of Handel and Vivaldi with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan. Exceptional in baroque repertoire, she has worked with William Christie, Helmuth Rilling and Maasaki Suzuki, and at the Bachfest Leipzig and the Boston Early Music Festival.