Kailyn Williams '21 to have Original Work Performed by Montclair Orchestra

Kailyn Williams '21 to have Original Work Performed by Montclair Orchestra

On Sunday, July 25, the Montclair Orchestra “Strings of Summer” concert series will perform “Silver Bells & Golden Sand,” an original piece by Morristown-Beard School graduate Kailyn Williams ’21, who won this year’s New Jersey Music Teachers National Association student composition competition.

In the state competition, judges praised Williams’ composition for its “youthful energy and the inviting accessibility of the music — a good deal of humorous and lyrical writing, memorable thematic material and virtuosic handling of the string parts.”

Williams, who will attend New York University in the fall, began composing “Silver Bells & Golden Sand” during her sophomore year at MBS after being inspired by a staccato plucking and strumming section in a piece by Maurice Ravel. She continued to refine her composition after studying African American women composers such as Florence Price and hearing Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who wrote the inventive theme to The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. “Ultimately, I wanted it to be a very American sounding piece,” said Williams. “I’m used to playing European classical music, but I love jazz and I love American music and I wanted to embrace that.”

The concert will take place on Sunday, July 25 at 8 p.m. at the Morris Museum in Morristown.  For tickets, please click here.


 

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