ABOUT US
Voices of Colour Music Studio "Your Voice, Your Colour, Your Music."
Denise Williams
Founding Director
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​🎶 Voices of Colour Music is more than a studio — it's a sanctuary for musical expression. We believe every student carries a unique instrumental colour, a personal sound that deserves to be heard, nurtured, and celebrated. Our professional environment is infused with a special vibe that inspires creativity, confidence, and excellence in performance. Whether you're just beginning your musical journey or refining your artistry, we’re here to help you shine on stage and beyond.
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About Denise
Denise Williams is a passionate advocate for the performing arts, leveraging her extensive professional experience and educational background to promote artistic expression and education. With a belief in the transformative power of music and the arts to bridge societal divides, Denise has dedicated her career to nurturing talent, fostering inclusivity, and promoting cultural understanding.
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Denise’s thirty-plus-years international career has put her at home on the concert, opera, and theatre stages. Highlights of her performance career include the Nathaniel Dett Chorale (Founding Member), Mirvish Productions (North American premiere of The Sound of Music), Canadian debuts of the title role of Portia White First You Dream. Her most well-loved self-produced music project is her cross-cultural, Walk Together Children concert program, presenting African, Jewish, and Muslim diasporic cultures through music. This project became the basis of her Masters capstone and was awarded an OAC music performance grant.
In addition to her achievements as a performer, Denise is also dedicated to arts education and community engagement including directing, workshops, classes, and international community music symposia.
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Denise is Founding Artistic Director and Producer of No Strings Theatre (NST) which supports the next generation of artists and encourages the development of new Canadian theatrical works. She is currently on the music theatre voice faculty of Sheridan College, operates her Voices of Colour Music (VCM) music studio, is a certified advanced voice teacher affiliate and examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, and a national vocal adjudicator.
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Denise has launched scholarships for Black students and artists. She continues to advocate for cross-cultural sharing of music traditions, equity, diversity and inclusion on performance stages.
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Memberships
Vice President, NATS-Ontario; Board of Directors, Elora Festival and Elora Singers; Past President, ORMTA Central Toronto Branch; ACTRA, CAEA
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Education
Master of Arts, Community Music, Wilfrid Laurier University; Arts and Entertainment Administration, TMU; ARCT Singing Diploma, Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM)
Awards
ORMTA Contribution to Teaching, 2024; 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women 2024
MISSION​
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​We believe in honing the elements of music skill, including technical, musicianship, artistic creativity and performance skills in people of all ages and strive to meet the individual learning style to deliver the tools for success from the studio to the stages one desires to be on.
PHILOSOPHY​​
Voices of Colour Music studio recognizes that each person posses a unique vocal instrument, has individual needs, desires, and goals. We strive to hone one's own natural vocal or instrumental colour and style through individually tailored studies which promote singing or playing with ease and freedom. We also understand how the psyche can get in the way and strive to channel the psycho-emotional path to successful performing. Beginner or advanced, amateur or professional, classical or contemporary, we can fit you.
Other lessons - Piano, Functional Keyboard, Ear training, Musicianship, Theory, Speech Arts and Drama, Masterclasses
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!​​
Although a sleek size 6 when I was in high school, I struggled to understand why LEE jeans did not look as good on me as on one of my girlfriends who was the same size. LEVIS jeans were somewhat of a better fit but certainly not as perfect as my friend's. No size seemed to fit. I figured that I was just an odd size and unattractive.
Similarly, I struggled to understand why one of my colleagues who had the same vocal teacher as I soared to her potential in a matter of a couple of years while I was getting vocally lost. Quite a number of years down the road I discovered that I was essentially trying to fit into a singing mentality that was not me, just like the LEE jeans.
Once I realized this and saw my path, I recalled the mentors that were most helpful, reinterpreted instructors whom I had conflict with, and eventually learned I could attain my goals of reaching success on the concert stage and beyond.
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Back in the day it was mainly LEE or LEVIS jeans. Have you noticed how many jean types there are today?
Everyone should be able to look good in jeans!