Cameren Anai Williams

Cameren Anai Williams is a violist from West Palm Beach, FL. Her musical studies began on the piano at the age of 2 with her mother, Erika Locke-Williams, as her teacher. From there, she broadened her musical horizons with the violin at the age of 5 years old and singing in choir at the age of 8. In 7th grade, she switched to the viola and began taking lessons with New World School viola professor, Richard Fleischman until she graduated high school. In 2018, Williams began her studies at The Juilliard School. Here is where she received her Bachelor of Music (2022) and Master of Music (2024)  degrees under the tutelage of Professors Carol Rodland and Samuel Rhodes as a recipient of the Jerome L. Greene Fellowship. Upon receiving her masters degree, Williams was awarded the Norman Banzequen Career Advancement Grant. This fellowship is awarded to five graduating music students who demonstrate outstanding artistry and achievement in leadership, entrepreneurship, and breadth of engagement.

Williams grew up into a family of musicians, educators, and music educators. Her neighborhood in South  Florida was a home for many accomplished African American doctors, lawyers, and teachers in the 20th century. Williams’ maternal grandparents, residents in this community beginning in 1958 , were well sought after music educators in the piano and vocal fields having earned their degrees from Peabody and University of Miami. Cameren’s mother, Erika Locke-Williams, was the only child out of four to pursue a professional career in the music field and currently is a professor at Palm Beach State College teaching private lessons, choir, ear training, music theory and private lessons in voice, piano, wind and brass instruments from home. From an early age, Williams’ learned the importance of education within the Black classical music community from watching how much her family contributed to their community. 

While growing up in South Florida, Williams’ started giving back to her community early on. Soon after starting the viola at the age of 11, she began teaching young students. She took what she learned from being a member of Young Singers of the Palm Beaches, her violin and viola lessons, piano lessons with her mother and voice lessons to help younger students begin their classical music journey. She provided affordable lessons from home to students in the South Florida community. As Williams grew her studio, she began to expand her pedagogical interests and responsibilities. She began tutoring music theory as a member of Dreyfoos School of the Arts Music Honors Society and was the orchestra teacher’s assisstant at Faith’s Place Center for Education - an after school program providing services such as tutoring, dance, and music lessons to students. As a college student, Cameren was a fellow for Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program where she got the opportunity to teach and collaborate with MAP faculty in classroom and orchestral settings. Currently, Williams teaches private violin and viola lessons at The Spence School on the East Side in New York City along with her own private studio in-person and online.

Aside from her passion for education, Williams’ loves to collaborate with other artists and explore different avenues within the classical industry. Some of her most fruitful musical experiences have been performing under maestro David Robertson leading The Juilliard Orchestra and the Juilliard Jazz collaboration at Carnegie Hall, playing in Juilliard’s historical performance orchestra - J415, performing with the NYO-USA All Stars, working with Nathalie Joachim and Chanel Da Silva on the live album performance of Nathalie’s Ki moun ou ye, and performing the world premiere of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse Live in Concert with the Broadway Sinfonietta and maestra Deanna Tham. Williams had her solo debut at Carnegie Hall at the age of 13 as a winner of the American Protege Competition playing J.C. Bach’s Concerto in c minor. She currently holds a position on the young artist roster for Center for Musical Excellence, an organization that provides individual financial support and performance opportunities to young musicians aspiring to pursue a career in the classical music world. Williams is also an artist with Concerts for Compassion - an organization which aims to bring music and music education to underserved communities. As a founding member of The Marian String Quartet (2021-2023), Williams was a part of Juilliard’s Honors Chamber Music Program for two years and won the 2022 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. MSQ coached primarily with Natasha Brofsky and Areta Zhulla. Williams continues to make her mark in the chamber music world by playing with ensembles such as the Ivalas Quartet, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, members of the Brentano Quartet, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Cameren’s foundation, CamAnai Strings, repairs instruments for students who have the talent but lack the financial resources to purchase an instrument in the South Florida area. Williams has participated in programs from California to Cremona, Italy studying the art of being a luthier. The most recent project  of CamAnai Strings was the children’s book, Kinderlute: A Young Musician's Guide to Taking Care of String Instruments, now available on Amazon and in the Juilliard Store in six languages. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help of the Sphinx Organization’s MPower Grants. 

Cameren aspires to travel and perform in a chamber ensemble while teaching at the collegiate level. She currently plays on a 16 ½ viola made by Japanese luthier Hiroshi Iizuka. Mr. Iizuka made this viola in 1980 paying homage to his oldest daughter, Kinu Inge.