Jill Williamson

A versatile and sought-after horn player, Jill Williamson maintains a fulfilling career as an orchestral player and chamber musician. Recent engagements include performances with the Illinois Philharmonic, City Lights Orchestra, Park Ridge Symphony, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Chicago Horn Consort and National Geographic: Symphony for Our World. Before moving to Chicago, Jill enjoyed a long and vibrant career in her native New York where she performed and toured with the American Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, American Songbook at Lincoln Center, Stamford Symphony, National Chorale, Sequitur, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Caramoor Opera, Jupiter Symphony, Absolute Ensemble and the Bard Music Festival. An experienced Broadway musician, she was the solo horn player for Mel Brooks' Tony Award winning smash hit The Producers. She also was a regular player for numerous other Broadway productions including Parade, Titanic, Jekyll and Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, and The Phantom of the Opera. Jill appears on the DVD "Recording The Producers - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks," as well as the Broadway soundtracks to The Producers and Parade. She has also performed and recorded albums with Mandy Patinkin, Jason Robert Brown, and Kristin Chenoweth, and can be heard on numerous television commercials.

With her critically-acclaimed woodwind quintet, the Meliora Winds, Jill received top prizes at the Concert Artist Guild Competition in New York City, and the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition in California. Meliora Winds became the first wind quintet in 20 years to win the Concert Artists Guild Competition, receiving the Nathan Weeden Award and exclusive professional management. Her quintet's vigorous performance schedule took them across the United States, Argentina, Brazil and Germany. In January 1999, Meliora Winds made their New York debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. That same year, they were recognized by Chamber Music Magazine as "one of the top 10 young groups to watch in the nation" and were invited to serve as the first quintet-in-residence for National Public Radio's popular show Performance Today, where they performed for a week of live broadcasts with host Martin Goldsmith.

Jill received her Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance from the Eastman School of Music, and her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. Her primary teachers were Verne Reynolds, David Wakefield and Julie Landsman.