Derek Williams (musician)

Derek Leslie Williams (born 20 September 1952) is a New Zealand-born Scottish composer, record producer, conductor, and orchestrator known for his scores for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Bodysurfer, Children of the Dragon, Come in Spinner, The Crossing, Crush, Frauds, The Other Side of Paradise, Ring of Scorpio, Seven Deadly Sins, Thank God He Met Lizzie, Visionaries, and for Frank Bennett, Glenfiddich, Sir Robert Helpmann, Grace Knight, Debbie Newsome, Caroline O'Connor, and Torvill and Dean. He is currently serving his 8th term as Chair of the Wagner Society of Scotland, a member of the International Association of Wagner Societies (RWVI) and at the 2024 Assembly of Delegates at Deutsche Oper Berlin, was elected to serve a 5-year term on the RWVI Presidium.

Williams was awarded a doctorate by the University of Edinburgh under Nigel Osborne and Peter Nelson for composition of his eponymous opera Wilde, and he is a Fellow of Trinity College London. Williams is a civil rights activist known for his 'Save Sibelius' campaign in the United Kingdom (2012–2013). Since 2007, he has taught Composition and Orchestration at the Edinburgh University Reid School of Music.