The Lesbian and Gay Band Association is pleased to announce the selection of Evan Williams as the commissioned composer for the organization’s 40th Anniversary Conference, set to take place over the Memorial Day Weekend of 2022 in Chicago. Selected from a group of the most talented and diverse active composers worldwide, Mr. Williams has established himself as a top composer of music for wind band. He is also a native of Chicago.
The music of Evan Williams has been performed across the country and internationally by members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Quince Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, and at festivals such as SEAMUS and the New York City Electronic Music Festival. In addition, he has been commissioned by notable performers and ensembles including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra and many more. Williams holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Bowling Green State University and Lawrence University. Williams is the Assistant Professor of Music Composition/Technology and Director of Instrumental Activities at Rhodes College.
For the work, Mr. Williams will draw inspiration from the poetry of Claude McKay, a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. McKay was bisexual and spent the last four years of his life in Chicago. Williams plans to compose a fantasia-like piece of many moods, reflective of McKay’s ungendered love poems.
The Lesbian and Gay Band Association’s 40th Anniversary Conference, titled “Sweet Home Chicago,” will be hosted by LGBA member Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles, and will take place in downtown Chicago May 26–29, 2022. The conference is a homecoming for LGBA — taking place in the same city that hosted the first-ever LGBA meeting in 1982.
LGBA invites you to join us for the 40th Anniversary Conference to celebrate Music, Visibility and Pride while supporting the world premiere of a new composition for wind band by celebrated American composer Evan Williams. Visit the Chicago conference website at LGBA2022.org for more information.
