La Verne Williams was a recipient of an Alfred Hertz Memorial Scholarship, a Rockefeller Foundation Scholarship and the National Opera Institute Grant, with honours, from Washington, D.C. She won three International Singing Concours. Williams's credits in The Tempest programme are for opera (including singing under Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home, and Simon Rattle at the Royal Festival Hall in Porgy and Bess). She appeared in the European premiere of Carmen Jones at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre. Williams also has extensive concert experience, including solo recitals at St. Paul's Cathedral and appearances with major orchestras including the London Symphony and Liverpool Philharmonic. She appeared in Great Day in the Morning with Jessye Norman as featured soloist.