Researching Jonathan Williams

Born in Cairo, Egypt, he participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 22 October 1967. He finished 8th, scoring no World Championship points.

His racing career began in the early 1960s, competing in saloons and various junior formulae, graduating to Formula Three in 1963 and in 1966 drove for the de Sanctis team. During this time he worked with the young Sir Frank Williams, Sheridan Thynne and Piers Courage.

In 1967, he was signed by Scuderia Ferrari, initially competing in sports car racing. That year, Ferrari lost several drivers, including team leader Lorenzo Bandini who died from injuries sustained at that year's Monaco Grand Prix and Williams' sports car co-driver, Günter Klass, killed during practice at the Mugello Circuit in July. Later that year, Williams was offered a drive in F1, but after only one Grand Prix he was dropped by Ferrari and a subsequent F1 project with Abarth did not come to fruition. However, he did compete in some Formula Two events in 1968 winning the Rhine Cup race in a car entered by Sir Frank Williams, before driving the works Serenissima. In 1969 he helped develop the De Tomaso F1 car for Frank Williams as well as continuing to compete in F2.

He continued also to be active in sports car racing. At the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, he co-drove the Porsche 908/02 which carried cameras for the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans.

Williams retired from racing in 1972 and became a pilot, (initially for Alessandro de Tomaso) an occupation he claimed to dislike and subsequently a writer and photographer.

Williams died on 31 August 2014, aged 71. He appeared in the documentary film Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans, released nine months after his death and which closes with a clip of Williams driving in the 1971 film Le Mans.

Jonathan Williams was born in Hertfordshire, England, and studied from 1975 until 1979 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with Sydney Coulston. While still a student he joined the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra, then after leaving Manchester he joined Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet as principal horn. In 1981 he joined I Solisti Veneti. In 1982 he joined the Chamber Orchestra of Europe as principal horn, and in 1984 was invited by Nicholas Busch to join the London Philharmonic Orchestra as co-principal horn. He was a founder of The Gaudier Ensemble and has recorded most of the central chamber music repertoire which includes the horn. He was co-principal horn of the BBC Symphony Orchestra between 1992 and 1997.

In 1986 Williams recorded Mozart's four horn concertos accompanied by Alexander Schneider and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 2000, he co-founded the Orchestra Citta Aperta with Carlo Crivelli to record the soundtrack for Ginostra directed by Manuel Pradal and until 2009 Orchestra Citta Aperta continued to record many soundtracks for Manuel Pradal, Mazzacurati, Ficarra e Piccone until the Abruzzo region suffered several devastating earthquakes. The home of the Orchestra Citta Aperta "Teatro La Fragolina" in Fossa and the village has remained closed since then.

From 2009 until 2015 Williams was artistic leader of the Min Ensemble of Norway, and in 2011 left the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and played frequently with the Australian Chamber Orchestra until 2015. Orchestra Citta Aperta now records in the Conservatorio in L'Aquila or in Rome. " Lost Vision " is a project planned for 2019 linking London with L'Aquila and Spain using LOLA distance technology with music by Carlo Crivelli.Since 2015 he has freelanced in London, recently with English National Opera, and has worked on soundtracks both in London and in Italy with Carlo Crivelli and Battista Lena.

He is the only conductor of the Hatfield Chamber Orchestra's annual concert at St Ethelreda's in Old Hatfield.