Ruaraidh Williams

Enthusiastic collaborator, educator, and cellist with 14 years’ experience, I’m passionate about sharing both technical skills and a creative musical mindset. I have performed as a soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician, and currently play in a Manchester-based string quartet focused on new music and collaboration. My orchestral experience includes serving as principal for the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland (2019–22).

I’m open and curious across musical styles, with a particular interest in folk, jazz, and improvisation, which I encourage students to explore as part of a well-rounded skill set. Drawing on my regular yoga and mindfulness practice, I aim to create a learning environment where students feel comfortable, supported, and able to enjoy making music.

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Ruaraidh Williams is a Scottish cellist, composer and improviser whose practice spans contemporary classical performance, chamber music, free improvisation and cross-genre collaboration. A BMus (Honours) graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Williams has a flexible musical voice that explores connection between notated repertoire and spontaneous creation.

As a chamber musician, Williams is a founding member of The Valette Ensemble and the Voluta String Quartet (winner of the RNCM Hirsch Chamber Prize for Beethoven 2025), performing across England and Scotland. His orchestral experience includes appearances with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra musicians at Maida Vale Studios, and six years with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, serving as Principal Cellist in both its Senior and Symphony Orchestras.

Williams’ work is characterised by a strong commitment to collaboration and new music. Projects have included performances of Indian classical music, live improvised film scores, community performances of Terry Riley’s In C, and work with MIUAWGA Ensemble, a collective dedicated to freely improvised and jazz-influenced music. Recent projects also include The Silver Chamber, merging classical chamber music with progressive metal, and Sound of Prana Trio, creating live meditation music in healthcare settings.

As a composer, Williams’ music is performed and recorded at the RNCM and beyond, with recognition including short-listings for BBC Proms Inspire and the Philip Bates Prize for Composers and Songwriters. His creative development has been supported by organisations including Sound and Music and Creative Scotland, as well as numerous scholarships and trusts.

Alongside performance, Williams has led workshops on performance wellbeing and has worked with young musicians both locally and online.