Roger Williams Commemorative 99th Birthday Concert - Concordia Sinfonietta at the Nixon Library

This exciting concert featured the arrangements of Roger Williams' hit songs and the songs performed by Williams for the US presidents, since Williams was known as, "The Pianist to the Presidents." On October 1, 2023, this event celebrated Roger Williams' legacy on his 99th Commemorative Birthday to begin the centennial celebration of a great American musician: Roger Williams. The Concordia University Irvine's Sinfonietta performed with music director Dr. Jeff Held and pianist Bryan Pezzone in the Nixon Library's East Room. Dr. Jo Ellen Chatham introduced each song with a historical narration of Roger's life and friendship with the presidents and introduced Roger Williams' daughter, Alice.
Roger was a strong proponent of the importance and benefits of music education for youth and he would have been honored and thrilled to hear this fine pianist and these talented young musicians play their hearts out! Enjoy! 🎶
Program:
0:00 - Introductions
4:48 - National Anthem
7:37 - Somewhere in Time
12:20 - A Jazzy Interruption
14:37 - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
20:27 - Born Free
26:16 - Impossible Dream
30:49 - Yellow Bird
36:33 - Eternal Father, Strong to Save
40:43 - God Bless America
55:38 - Alice My Love
1:08:17 - Autumn Leaves
1:18:04 - Hungarian Dance #5
Roger Williams _ https://linktr.ee/rogerwilliams.music
Concordia University Irvine _ https://www.cui.edu/music