Kathryn Williams
Kathryn Williams is a flutist, creative collaborator, and researcher whose work explores tangible connections between body and instrument, interrogating ideas around accessibility, physical limitation, and health.
Her ongoing project, Coming Up for Air, centres on creatively addressing her experiences of chronic respiratory conditions through commissioning over 150 single-breath works. Described as “ingeniously inventive” (TEMPO), the project has been performed internationally and featured in Breathe Magazine, PAN, TEMPO, and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 The Listening Service and PBS Melbourne. An album of 40 single-breath pieces was released in 2019 on Huddersfield Contemporary Records, and in 2024 the Coming Up for Air Concerto, composed by Larry Goves, premiered with the Luxembourg Philharmonic at the Rainy Days Festival. Recent performances include Akademie der Künste (Berlin), AżTak Festival (Warsaw), and the Royal Conservatory (Antwerp).
Kathryn recently completed a postdoctoral project at the Royal Northern College of Music exploring the interplay between indoor air quality, technology, and musicians’ health and wellbeing through creative practice. This research builds on her wider commitment to accessible, sustainable approaches to music-making. She is also the recipient of a Developing Your Creative Practice grant from Arts Council England, supporting the next phase of her artistic development.
Her recordings include Aldo Clementi’s Ouverture for 12 flutes, praised for its “remarkable crystalline clarity, accentuated by Williams’ focused and pure flute tone,” as well as releases for Another Timbre, RVNG International, and NMC. Kathryn curates an independent portfolio of collaborations across performance, research, and recording.
As an educator, Kathryn has worked with Britten-Pears, Dartington, Aldeburgh Young Musicians, Chetham’s, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and Junior RNCM, and has guest lectured at leading UK and international institutions. She also spent six years with Live Music Now!, serving as Musician in Residence at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
She earned a BMus, MMus, and International Artist Diploma from the Royal Northern College of Music and a PhD from the University of Huddersfield.
