One thing Joshua enjoys most about playing the tuba is showcasing the often overlooked capabilities of the instrument. From becoming a National YoungArts Finalist in 2017, to winning the inaugural Kennesaw State University Concerto Competition in 2018, to becoming the first tubist to win the Duo Competition at the Music Academy of the West in 2022, Joshua has found a way to beat the odds with virtuosic playing of the low toned instrument. His skill over the instrument earned Joshua a full-ride Kovner Fellowship to the Juilliard school. While pursuing a performance and freelance career in New York City, Joshua was also a student devoted to his academics and community engagement. He maintained a teaching fellowship through the demanding ear training department at Juilliard, while also working with the Music Advancement Program and Gluck Fellowships during his collegiate tenure.
Joshua graduated from 2 degree programs at Juilliard, earning his bachelors and masters degrees. During his time in school, he spent his summers at leading music festivals, as a Music Academy of the West fellow in 2022 and a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra from 2023-2024. Currently Joshua is a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as a fellow, and maintains an international solo career through partnership with Bayer AG.
“Music making is about sharing a piece of my own experience with the world so that we can all understand each other better”
Born in New Orleans and raised by the city of Atlanta, Joshua Williams is a distinguished performer with a young, burgeoning career. Joshua began playing tuba at the age of 11, inspired by his brother who is also a tubist. Shortly after he began to play the double bass, an instrument in which he studied earnestly for over 6 years and still plays at leisure today. As a multi-instrumentalist Joshua grew up fascinated in many different genres of music, with classical, jazz, gospel, and soul music being his predominant interest. Using all of his musical and life experiences, Joshua believes in accomplishing something bigger than all of us through music. “Whether individually or collaboratively, music making is about sharing a piece of my own experience with the world so that we can all understand each other better”. Joshua's musical ambition became possible when he joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program. Initiated identify, mentor, and develop Atlanta’s musicians of African American and Latino heritage for careers as professional classical musicians.