He plays three instruments, arranges and composes music, teaches his siblings how to play certain musical pieces and excels in all subject areas at school. At age seven, Atiba Williams could only be described as a genius.
Son of Eunis and Franklyn Williams, Atiba has been thrilling people all over the country since he was two and a half years old.
According to his other, Atiba's talents became evident when he was only a year old and could barely walk. While listening to an older sister's attempts to play a tune on the pan, Eunis recalled that Atiba became agitated. When another sister picked him up in attempt to soothe him, he took the pan sticks and proceeded to play the same tune flawlessly.
To say that Atiba's family was shocked would be an understatement, but instead of boasting about this wonderchild, they decided to keep everything quiet in the event it never happened again.
That performance was just the beginning for Atiba who is described by his family as a born entertainer. At a visitor's day in church he left his family and wandered off, when they did find him he was surrounded by an astonished crowd who had gathered to watch him play a pan he had found. He was just two and a half years old at the time.
After throwing a tantrum at his exclusion in a family concert, Atiba was allowed to perform for audiences and since then he has become a well-known figure, delighting people all over the island.
Between 1993 and 1996, Atiba has done over 66 performances for audiences which included the Dalai lama of Tibet and Stokely Carmichael otherwise known as Kwame Ture. He has also opened shows like the Dimanche Gras and the CLICO Convention in Holiday Inn last year.
Despite his sometimes hectic schedule and enormous musical talent, Atiba is a straight 'A' student at the Waterman's preparatory School and according to his mother he devours every book he borrows from the library.
Petit and alert, Atiba is the last in the line of eight children who are all blessed with musical gifts. However Atiba even amazes his siblings who admire his uncanny ability to name any note he hears by just listening. This he does without reference to any musical instrument.
According to Nubia, Atiba's elder sister, friend and manager, this ability is known in the musical world as the 'perfect pitch' and usually has to be developed through years of practice, focus and study.
In addition to naming notes by just listening to them, Atiba can also arrange any piece of music while playing it. "I hear the different sounds in my head," he said.
According to Atiba's mother, "One day we heard Atiba playing a tune on the pan and we realized that we were not only hearing the melody, but also harmony."
"Atiba said he was hearing the music in his head," she said. "It was then we realized that he had the ability to arrange music," she said.
Since then Atiba has taught his brother, Ato, and his sister, Akleeaha, to play melodies on the pan and recorder for several tunes. He also composes many of the tunes his siblings perform.
Atiba plays the pan, violin and piano. He loves music and he loves to perform. At seven years of age, Atiba has no doubts about his future. With a shy smile and twinkling eyes he said, "I'm a musician."