“It was clear from a young age that music was going to be my thing. I was always singing along to my parents’ CDs and cassette tapes, was fascinated with my father’s hi-fi, and staged fully-choreographed performances of every Disney soundtrack we owned with my sister. Music was my favorite class in school and I would devour any piece of music from my teachers. It very quickly became a relationship that I nurtured and treasured.”

Riley Williams is a classical musician and award-winning composer who lives, teaches, and performs in the Buffalo area. She studied harp with Symphoria (formerly Syracuse Symphony) principal harpist Ursula Kwasnicka. Riley regularly performs as a violist and harpist with the Orchard Park Symphony. Riley is also the harpist for the Buffalo Niagara Praise Orchestra and has performed with the Cheektowaga Community Symphony Orchestra. She is also a classically trained pianist, studying with Sar Shalom Strong at Hamilton College. At Hamilton, Riley earned a B.A. in Music Composition, studying with the late Samuel Pellman. When she is not performing or writing, you can find Riley teaching in her home studio and teaching all forms of music at Nativity of Our Lord School, in Orchard Park, NY.