08/14/2026
Ben Williams, professor of music theory and composition and chair of the Department of Music at Mississippi Christian University, has been reappointed to serve for a second year as president of Opera Mississippi’s Board of Directors.
Williams has served as president of Opera Mississippi since 2025 and will continue to help guide the organization’s vision, support its artistic mission and advance opportunities for artistic excellence and cultural enrichment throughout the state.
“Benjamin Williams brings a unique combination of artistic expertise, educational leadership and a deep commitment to the cultural life of Mississippi,” said John Christopher Adams, executive director of Opera Mississippi. “We are pleased to have him continue serving as president of Opera Mississippi’s Board of Directors and look forward to the organization’s continued growth under his leadership.”
Williams said storytelling is one of Mississippi’s great gifts to American culture, and as a musician, “I see the combination of storytelling and music come together in opera in a way that strikes straight at the heart of a broad range of audiences through the beautiful sounds, artistic scenes and bigger-than-life stories. I'm honored to help bring those life-altering experiences to as many audiences as possible throughout our state, from grade-school students to aficionados and everything in between.”
He said his service to Opera Mississippi has been a strategic growth point for the arts culture of Mississippi Christian University. He is responsible for bringing world-class mainstage productions to Swor Auditorium with last season's production of Mozart's ‘Magic Flute’ and Rossini's ‘Barber of Seville’ scheduled for May 2027. These productions feature MC alumni, faculty and family.
“The scale of these works of art comes to life through the collaboration of our very own academic institution dedicated to excellence and the ninth oldest continuously operating opera company in the United States,” he said.
Much of Williams’ work as president of the Opera Mississippi Board of Directors has been to help more audiences realize that opera doesn’t need to be a “foreign art.”
“Our productions include supertitles in English and always feature local and regional artists,” he said. “We've expanded our educational offerings to bring these stories to communities all over the state, including this year's focus on the centennial celebration of Leontyne Price, the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim who was born just around the corner in Laurel.
“MC will celebrate this special anniversary at our biennial Leontyne Price Scholarship Recital in the spring semester.”
Williams is a composer, educator, performer and arts leader who brings extensive experience in the arts and education and community engagement to Opera Mississippi. Originally from Northeast Ohio, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s in music composition at the University of Akron and obtained his Doctor of Musical Arts from Ohio State University.
An active performer and collaborator, Williams has performed with the jazz ensemble Brick Street Trio and the new music ensemble New JXN, appeared in productions at New Stage Theatre and collaborated with Opera Mississippi as both an artist and arts leader to help the organization advance its mission of enriching lives through exceptional opera performances, arts education and cultural outreach throughout Mississippi.
