About Neil Arthur Williams

TJ is delighted to have Neil Arthur Williams as a very special guest during his pre-Christmas gig at Ward End On December 10th 2011.

Neil Arthur Williams, a Preston-born and bred resident of Tamworth is a self-employed writer, composer, musicologist and, not least, clinical hypnotherapist. He was a late-starter to musical training and only had his first-ever piano and theory lessons at the age of 27. Now aged 49, Neil is an internationally published composer via the worldwide digital release of his debut album entitled "The Hand of OMG – 34 Eclectic Instrumentals 1997-2011". On the road to this success Neil studied music and composition for 2 years at the University of Birmingham (1997-99) before winning two first-prize trophies at the Tamworth Millennium Music Festival (March 2000), including the ‘Composition Open Category’ first prize and the ‘Best Composer’ trophy for all categories.

He continued his musical training with the Open University for another 6 years gaining a music diploma, a BA with first-class honours, and an MA in Music with distinction (the first-ever awarded to an OU student). He is a recognised and published scholar on the great English composer Gustav Holst and is a world-authority on Holst’s orchestral masterwork The Planets of which he owns at least one copy of every commercial recording of the work ever made.

Earlier this year, BBC Radio 4 made a programme about Neil and his vast collection of material relating to Holst and The Planets. Several of his own piano compositions have been premiered at the annual concerts of the Holst Birthplace Museum and Trust in Cheltenham, of which he is a life member. He has also given talks about the Holst family and their creative output both at the Holst Birthplace Museum and the 2010 English Music Festival. His tastes in music are extremely eclectic, and he intends to perform a variety of music ranging from his own classical compositions to music from the world of media and pop.