London’s Royal College of Music Announces Next Director

James Williams will assume the position as of September 2024

James Williams will join London’s Royal College of Music (RCM) as its 11th director on September 1, 2024. He will succeed Colin Lawson CBE, who will retire at the end of August 2024, after almost two decades in the role.

Since June 2016, Williams has served as managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO). He will continue this role for the rest of the 2023/24 concert season.

Prior to RPO, he worked for eight years on the Philharmonia Orchestra’s concert and commercial program with conductors including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lorin Mazel, and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

With a background in music education, he has also worked at the Royal Northern College of Music as programming manager for five years, and operated a regional branch of the Menuhin School’s “Live Music Now” education initiative.

Additionally, he has led audience development and digital programs including iOrchestra — a virtual orchestra project, which introduced orchestral music to over 200,000 people in the South West of England. 

Currently, he holds voluntary board positions with Metroland Cultures, the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust, and is a board member of the Association of British Orchestras. He is also a member of the RCM Council.

“It is a great honor to lead the Royal College of Music into the next chapter of its development, building on the incredible successes to date and honoring the College’s founding principles and commitment to its students for widening access, advocating strongly for the value of music education and upholding the RCM’s unrivaled reputation for artistic excellence,” said Williams. 

“James is a much-respected member of the music industry and his expertise, international outlook, powerful advocacy and knowledge of the music profession will be of enormous benefit to our students and the RCM’s global reputation,” added RCM council chairman, Lord Guy Black. “I know James will support the RCM community — building on the outstanding achievements of Colin Lawson and his team — as a world-leading music educator, preparing our students for successful careers across the world.”

“I wish James every success and look forward to working with him in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition,” said Lawson, RCM’s outgoing director. “It remains an enormous privilege to serve the RCM as Director, a role I will have fulfilled for almost twenty years.”

Founded in 1882, the RCM comprises over 900 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 50 countries. Alums of the school have included Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Leopold Stokowski, Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Thomas Allen, Dame Sarah Connolly, Tarik O’Regan, Lord Lloyd Webber, Sir James Galway, Anna Meredith MBE, Louise Alder, and Mark-Anthony Turnage.