The right place at the right time
When Bede Williams (PhD 2018) first visited St Andrews in 2002 while touring with the New Zealand Army Band, he couldn’t have predicted that it would one day become the epicentre of his musical life. He reflects on his long-standing connections to the Laidlaw Music Centre, where he is now the Deputy Director of Music.
My journey with the University of St Andrews began long before I ever imagined I would work, study and build a life here.
I’m originally from New Zealand, and my first encounter with St Andrews was in 2002, when I was just 17 years old. I was touring Scotland as a member of the New Zealand Army Band, playing in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and we were given a day trip to St Andrews. I still have a photograph from that visit, standing on the Swilcan Bridge at the Old Course. At the time, it was simply an exciting stop in a beautiful place. I had no sense that it would one day become the epicentre of my musical life.
I moved to Scotland the following year, in 2003, to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. For several years, St Andrews remained on the periphery. My next visit wasn’t until 2007, when I came to play as an extra member of the St Andrews Chamber Orchestra in a concert at St Salvator’s Chapel. Again, it felt like a moment rather than a beginning – a rewarding experience, but nothing more.
A pivotal invitation
Everything changed a few years later. In 2010, I was invited to return to St Andrews as a conductor, working with the Music Society Symphony Orchestra. Around that time, I met Director of Music at the Laidlaw Music Centre, Dr Michael Downes. In 2011, he invited me to take on some trumpet teaching. It was initially just a couple of hours a week, but those hours grew. I began teaching on the evening degree, and before long, I realised I was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.
In 2014, I took advantage of the staff fee discount and registered as a PhD student, graduating in 2018. What drew me so strongly to St Andrews was opportunity. The Music Centre was in a remarkable period of growth, and it was a place where I could do many different things musically – performing, conducting, teaching, experimenting – rather than being confined to one style or one role. I’ve always valued variety, and St Andrews gave me the space to explore that.
Collaboration and experimentation
When I think back to those early years, what stands out most is the atmosphere. There was a real can‑do spirit, a willingness to commit wholeheartedly to whatever lay ahead of us. Some of the performances were, let’s say, colourful – enthusiastic rather than polished – but they were driven by belief and energy. Over the years, I’ve seen a real refinement develop in the music making, but I still value that earlier sense of commitment and collective endeavour.
I’ve always been a commuter to St Andrews, travelling from my home in West Lothian, where my wife’s family is from. While it’s a significant journey, I’ve never stopped loving the place. I grew up near the sea in New Zealand, and I find the coastal setting of St Andrews very comforting. Just as important are the people. One of the defining aspects of my time here has been the remarkably low turnover of colleagues within the Music Centre. We’ve been working together for many years, and that continuity has fostered a strong sense of shared ownership between us.
Since completing my PhD, my role at the University has continued to develop. Career highlights include a recent recording for Toccata Classics of music by Cedric Thorpe Davie – instigated by Alan Munro (MA Hons 1977) and released on Toccata Classics founded by Martin Anderson (MA Hons 1977) -, and the many projects I was fortunate to undertake at St Andrews with my late friend and mentor, Professor John Wallace CBE. More recently, I’ve become interested in immersive sound. A particularly exciting project this year involved an improvised session in the McPherson Recital Room, recorded in Dolby Atmos, with the recordings now forming part of an international exhibition in France, created with fellow alumnus Huw Lloyd‑Richards (PhD 2011) and the Hark Collective.
Building a lasting musical community
I’m especially proud of the work I’ve done with colleagues to help shape opportunities for serious performance study at St Andrews, even without a standalone music degree. That same philosophy underpins my involvement with St Andrews Music Participation (StAMP). When the Music Centre was offered the chance to bid for a significant initial investment, I drew on my own experience of growing up in brass bands. I knew that whatever we created needed to be sustainable, something that could grow within the community long after the initial funding. Brass bands offered exactly that: a living, resilient community asset capable of long‑term impact.
At 41, and now with children of my own, my relationship to the University has shifted again. When I first started working here, I was only a few years older than many of the students. Now, I feel a stronger sense of custodianship – a responsibility to model good musical practice, to continue developing myself and to ensure that the opportunities that transformed my life remain available to the next generation. For me, St Andrews isn’t just a workplace or an alma mater. It’s a community I’m proud to help sustain.