C’EST AINSI QUE TU ES
Board of Officers Room | Park Avenue Armory 
Leah Hawkins, soprano | Kevin Miller, piano

“The open chords of the Boulanger made way for the melancholic strains of ‘Nature Boy’ by eden ahbez, presented here in a jazz-tinged arrangement by baritone and composer Jorell Williams… The agitated textures of the earlier ‘Runaway’ for Miller on solo piano made a more convincing case for Williams as a composer.”  - Parterre
 
World Premieres and Arrangements: Blue Lullaby & Runaway

MY BROTHER'S KEEPER
Merkin Hall  |  New York Festival of Song (NYFOS)​

"In addition to being a singer and pianist, Jorell Williams is also a composer. The evening began with Williams at the piano performing ‘Americana/Go Down Moses’, a profound musical meditation that he wrote in response to George Floyd’s murder in 2020…Before the applause had a chance to die down, Jorell Williams announced that they had a built-in encore to sing, his ‘Hold Fast to Dreams’. The six men sang Williams’s setting of more of Langston Hughes’s words expressing dreams to be pursued and choices to be made with determination and pride. One marveled at the sincerity and artistry of all on stage.”
"  - Seen and heard international
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World Premieres: Americana & Hold Fast to Dreams

DIE KINDERLIEDER
First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn | Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) 
Kristina Bachrach, soprano | Nathaniel LaNasa, piano | Stanichka Dimitrova, violin

"Jorell Williams, who as a baritone has performed in recital with BASS, is also a composer. For this concert he was commissioned to arrange three of the songs that Weber wrote and sang to the adults and children held at Theresienstadt.
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The three songs set by Williams in Kinderlieder describe a person wandering through Theresienstadt, a mother’s thoughts of her faraway child and a tender lullaby. Sadness, sometimes wistful while profound and overwhelming at others, prevails throughout the songs. Violin and piano were as integral as the voice in expressing emotion. The words are especially moving… and soprano Kristina Bachrach expressed their meaning with the simplicity and beauty they demanded.” - Seen and Heard International
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BASS Commission · World Premiere: Theresienstadt, Und der Regen rinnt, Wiegala