Geej Williams

Geej Williams

Geej Williams has performed in many countries around the world, and has composed music for various theater productions. She toured extensively as a performer and theater trainer with the internationally renowned Kaliwat Theater Collective then led by Nestor Horfilla, and with the Asian Council for People’s Culture Theater for the Environment Network (ACPC-TENT) led by Al Santos. She also conducted many trainings in music and theater for the Cultural Center of the Philippines and was Vice-Chairperson of the Dramatic Arts Committee of the Philippines' National Commission for Culture and the Arts for two consecutive terms (8 years).

In Jacksonville, FL, Geej was theater director, and drama and music teacher at The Foundation Academy, has produced her first solo album in English, "Journey," and is currently working on a second one while musing about writing a one-act musical.  She is also very active in the Jacksonville live music scene as a solo artist, and a member of Mark Williams & Blue Horse, Moonstalker, and Time to Drum.

One of Geej’s music from the dance-drama “Uwahig” written by Steven Patrick Fernandez, was performed on “The Voice” in the Philippines, which to date has 14 million views on Youtube. The music, now entitled "The Myth and the Poet" is available on Bandcamp.

As a musician, Geej is one of the founding members and songwriters of the prestigious band, Mebuyan, in her hometown Davao. She was also award winning songwriter at the Tunog Mindanaw World Music Competition for two consecutive years. The music video of her instrumental music, ONE, by Elvert Bañares, is entry to three short music video festivals, including Blackbird 15 and World Music Videos.

Geej started writing songs in English after moving to the US in 2011 and has since released her first solo recording, entitled “Journey,” (2018) which is available in CDBaby, Itunes, Spotify, etc. She also performs with Ken Anoff’s Time to Drum and with Mark Williams and Blue Horse.

One of the things Geej has held close to her heart has been her involvement with various non-profit organizations doing cultural, international, and peace work for over 30 years. As a member of Kaliwat Theater Collective in Davao, Geej worked alongside indigenous peoples in their quest for their ancestral domains and conducted research on indigenous peoples’ myths, legends, and traditional art forms. She also became involved with the Initiatives for International Dialogue as its Publication and Global Education Coordinator. The institution was the secretariat for the Free Burma Coalition (FBC) and the Asia Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET), for which she was Managing Editor of the organizations' publications. These coalitions worked towards the democracy and sovereignty in Myanmar and East Timor, respectively. 

Geej was also communications and popular education director for the Mindanao Commission on Women for six years, where she trained women political leaders in peacemaking. She documented and co-facilitated the commission’s project “If Women Negotiated the Peace Panel”—the results of which were presented to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Government of the Republic of the Philippines GRP) Peace Panels for their series of peace talks in 2008.

Geej, whose full name is CECILIA BAJO WILLIAMS, is also known in the Philippines as Geejay Arriola.