KIANA DAY WILLIAMS
UNITED STATES
HGO Associate Director of School & Educator Engagement - Director of Choir, Wheeler Baptist Church
A native of Jackson, MS, Kiana Day Williams holds Bachelor of Music Education (Piano emphasis) and Master of Music Education (Voice Emphasis) degrees from Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. She has also received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education with a Minor in Choral Conducting from University of Houston in Houston, TX where she studied conducting with Charles Hausmann. She currently serves as the Associate Director of School and Educator Engagement on the Community & Learning team at Houston Grand Opera. She is returning to the company from having previously served as Home and Place Program Manager 2011-12 where she oversaw a $250,000 grant-funded project that used the art of opera to share stories from the diverse communities within Houston.
Williams is a 17-year veteran educator who has taught at the elementary, high school and collegiate levels in Mississippi and Texas, to include Aldine ISD, University of Houston, Houston Community College, and most recently, Texas Southern University where she served as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choirs. During her tenure at TSU, her ensembles performed on such stages as the 65th Monterey Jazz Festival, Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy’s A Celebration for Reading 2020 and performed the opening selection for Game 6 of the 2022 MLB World Series.
Williams has also served as the Director of Fine Arts at the historic Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church located in Houston’s 3rd Ward where she was instrumental in creating new and supporting existing fine arts ministry offerings within the church. Today, as a dedicated member of Wheeler Avenue and participant in the church’s Music & Fine Arts ministries, Williams continues to serve as a “connector” by fostering strategic partnerships between the church and such arts organizations as Houston Grand Opera, Performing Arts Houston, and Dance Theater of Harlem.