Kayla Williams, along with Ellie Pruneau, Dan Pappalardo, and Zach Brown, will perform pieces by traditional, Max Bruch, Wayne Shorter, Debussy, William Grant Still Jr/ Miles Davis, and her own compositions with Chris McCarthy.
The event is free, open to the public, and in-person, with live streaming. Watch the Livestream.
Violist Kayla Williams is an advocate for music, who hopes to diversify music through her own experiences as a Black woman. Originally from Florida, Kayla began playing the violin at age four then at age ten she discovered her true passion, the viola. As a winner of the 2018 Lynn Concerto Competition, she made her concerto debut performing Bartok’s Viola Concerto. Williams has been the guest of music festivals across a range of music including the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Florida Folk Festival, and the 2022 Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. Williams has both live and recorded performances with Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste. As a recitalist, Williams has performed on concert series around the country, including Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, the Island Concert Association February Festival in St. Simons Island,GA, and the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Guest Artist Music Series. Her pianist is Christopher McCarthy. Williams earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida and a Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Juilliard School in New York City. She is also the recipient of the 2021-2023 Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship.