N.C. A&T Students, International Jazz Artist Williams to Perform During Homecoming

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 19, 2022) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will host a jazz concert featuring acclaimed international musician Lori Williams on Monday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. in Harrison Auditorium.

The concert, which is open to the public, is part of this year’s “Greatest Homecoming on Earth” events, and will also highlight N.C. A&T’s Jazz Ensemble, University Choir and other music students.

Williams, an artist, music educator, songwriter, producer and musical theater actress, is bringing her soulful jazz sounds to A&T’s campus as its 2022-2023 Jazz Artist-in-Residence. While on campus, Williams is working with music and performing arts students on song writing and vocal techniques. Her residency features a series of clinics, master classes and workshops at different times throughout the academic year.

At Monday’s concert, Williams will collaborate with students in the Jazz Ensemble, whose repertoire varies from big band classics, to be-bop, to fusion. The University Choir, which has a wide range of compositions for mixed voices, will also perform. 

As A&T’s Artist-in-Residence, Williams brings knowledge from her international, professional and collaborative experiences. A veteran educator in the Washington, D.C., Public Schools System and private vocal coach, Williams has received many honors including Outstanding Music Teacher, the 2007 Superintendent’s Arts Teacher of the Year, and the 2010 Vincent E. Reed Teacher of the Year. She was nominated for a 2014 Helen Hayes Award as an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical for her role as Ella Fitzgerald. Williams has received letters of recognition for her vocal performances from President Biden, former Speaker of the House John Boehner, and Maryland State Sen. C. Anthony Muse.

A graduate of Hampton University, Williams has toured extensively and performed in venues, including music festivals, across the United States, Europe, Japan and the British Virgin Islands. For more than three decades, Williams has had the honor of working with notable artists as lead, background, studio session and guest vocalist including Oleta Adams, Yolanda Adams, Eric Benet, The Blackbyrds, Peabo Bryson, Stanley Clarke, Savion Glover, Walter Hawkins, Angela Winbush, Kindred the Family Soul and more. Williams has six independent CDs and released a single, “Too Late (It’s My Time),” in June 2022.                                                                                                

A&T’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence program is designed to provide opportunities for an artist to further explore his or her practice, mentor students and continue developing his or her artistic talents. The artist is selected based upon outstanding professional credentials, creative accomplishments and national recognition in one of the fields of theater, visual arts, music or arts in general.