Nolan Williams, Jr.

Nolan Williams, Jr.Nolan Williams, Jr.Nolan Williams, Jr.

Nolan Williams, Jr.

Nolan Williams, Jr.Nolan Williams, Jr.Nolan Williams, Jr.
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"Williams has a musical language all his own. 

It brims with vernacular American optimism…" 


-The Philadelphia Inquirer













"Williams has a musical language all his own. 

It brims with vernacular American optimism…" 


-The Philadelphia Inquirer

NOLAN WILLIAMS, JR. is an American composer, music director, artistic producer, and cultural curator who uses his art to advocate, educate and inspire. 

"I HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE"

A Star-studded Voting Rights Anthem by Nolan Williams, Jr.

- Over 600,000 views to date -

I Have A Right To Vote is a non-partisan pop anthem and music video purposed to: a) raise awareness around voter suppression, b) encourage voter education and registration, and c) increase voter motivation leading up to the 2020 national election. Composed and video directed by Nolan Williams, Jr., I Have A Right To Vote features a host of celebrities speaking the words of several voting rights icons, including: BillIe Jean King, Billy Porter, Chef Carla Hall, Christopher Jackson (from the original cast of HAMILTON), Hill Harper, Ebony Jo-Ann, and Ryan Jamaal Swain (POSE). The video also features the national touring company of STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA (Williams' theatrical concert production from which the song is drawn), cameos by luminaries like businesswoman Sheila C. Johnson, and everyday citizens at iconic places across the country—from New York’s Times Square to Milwaukee’s Art Museum, and from the “Rocky” Steps in Philadelphia to the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles—all affirming their right to vote! 

  

Click here for more information and here for media inquiries.

Fox 5 Washington D.C.  

'I have a right to vote' composer (8/30/20) 

WUSA-9

D.C. composer delivers strong voting rights message in a new star-studded music video (8/30/20)

CURRENT THEATRICAL PROJECTS

GRACE

STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA

STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA

A new musical capturing a day in the life of the Mintons, heirs of a century-old Philadelphia restaurant 

Learn more

STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA

STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA

STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA

A touring theatrical concert production illuminating the Civil Rights Movement

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DEVINE HAMER GRAY

STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA

DEVINE HAMER GRAY

A new musical about the contested congressional election of 1964 (in development)

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WORK SAMPLES

An American composer with songwriting credits on two Grammy-nominated projects and numerous commissions, Nolan's eclectic library of original compositions and arrangements includes rousing symphonic and choral works, inspirational and popular songs, and music for stage and television.

CLICK TO LISTEN

MORE ABOUT NOLAN's WORK...

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Cultural Festivals

Special Recognitions

Cultural Festivals

Since 2010, Nolan has developed festival programming featuring a range of performance, educational, visual arts and social impact initiatives. This programming has been developed with arts partners like the Kennedy Center (Joyful Sounds: Gospel Across America) and Philadelphia's Mann Center (Philadelphia Freedom Festival, Liberty: Unplugg

Since 2010, Nolan has developed festival programming featuring a range of performance, educational, visual arts and social impact initiatives. This programming has been developed with arts partners like the Kennedy Center (Joyful Sounds: Gospel Across America) and Philadelphia's Mann Center (Philadelphia Freedom Festival, Liberty: Unplugged!, New Frontiers, Firebird: Spirit Rising, Brilliantly Bernstein: Beyond the Baton), engaging a stellar slate of artists, educational institutions, and cultural organizations.

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Music Publications

Special Recognitions

Cultural Festivals

Nolan is chief music editor of the bestselling African American Heritage Hymnal. Released by GIA Publications in 2001, this landmark compilation has sold nearly 500K copies worldwide. Nolan is also associate editor of Total Praise, the 2012 hymnal developed for the eight-million-member National Baptist Convention, USA, and third-most cont

Nolan is chief music editor of the bestselling African American Heritage Hymnal. Released by GIA Publications in 2001, this landmark compilation has sold nearly 500K copies worldwide. Nolan is also associate editor of Total Praise, the 2012 hymnal developed for the eight-million-member National Baptist Convention, USA, and third-most contributing arranger of Lead Me, Guide Me - Second Edition, an African American Catholic hymnal (2012).  

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Special Recognitions

Special Recognitions

Special Recognitions

Nolan's honors include: Playwright, 44th Humana Festival of New American Plays (2020); 2019-20 Kennedy Center Social Impact Arts Residency; 2019 Arts Advocacy Award, Kennedy Center National Committee for the Performing Arts; Roe Green Playwright, 2018 Cleveland Play House New Ground Theatre Festival; 2017  W.E.B. Du Bois Arts & Education 

Nolan's honors include: Playwright, 44th Humana Festival of New American Plays (2020); 2019-20 Kennedy Center Social Impact Arts Residency; 2019 Arts Advocacy Award, Kennedy Center National Committee for the Performing Arts; Roe Green Playwright, 2018 Cleveland Play House New Ground Theatre Festival; 2017  W.E.B. Du Bois Arts & Education Award; 2013 honorary Doctor of Music, Richmond Virginia Seminary; 2012 American Cancer Society Award; 2012 Genius4Men Award. 

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RECENT NEWS FEATURES

BROADWAYWORLD.COM

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

HARLEM WORLD MAGAZINE

"I Have A Right To Vote Launches National Voter Awareness Effort" (8/17/20)

HARLEM WORLD MAGAZINE

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

HARLEM WORLD MAGAZINE

"Billy Porter And Others At Star-Studded Voting Anthem And Voter Awareness Effort" (8/17/20)

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

"Get out the vote. Share this vid." (8/22/20)

WUSA-9 (CBS)

WUSA-9 (CBS)

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

D.C. composer Nolan Williams Jr. presents the star-studded "I Have A Right To Vote" video | Most D.C. Thing (9/4/20)

WURD Radio

WUSA-9 (CBS)

WURD Radio

Star-studded Music Video Highlight Voting Rights (9/18/20)

FOX 5 D.C. - 5/28/20

Nolan and Chef Carla Hall, culinary ambassador of GRACE, dish with FOX 5 about the new musical - FOX 5 D.C.

ARCHIVAL NEWS FEATURES

THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE

THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE

THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE

"I want to spend the rest of my days exploring music and the arts in ways  that bridge communities and that speak inconvenient truths and that  challenge and press us towards being our better selves — as individuals, as communities, as a nation."

READ ARTICLE

THE WASHINGTON POST

THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE

THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE

GRACE, centered on the history and legacy of African American food traditions [is] the fourth musical created by Williams, who grew up in the District and has pursued an eclectic career...

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE

THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

Williams, the [Let Freedom Ring]  celebration’s musical director for the past 17 years, ...[announced] his STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA tour, a Civil Rights-themed production... The night ended with [a] ...musical tribute featuring... 

10-time-Grammy-winner Chaka Khan.

READ ARTICLE

LEO WEEKLY

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

“[GRACE] was inspired when I started looking at food traditions, the way those traditions shape family and community and the way persons who migrated from enslavement in the South made their way north and discovered that their food was an economic commodity. ...I’m fascinated by that history...” 

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THE WASHINGTON POST

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

[Williams has had] an eclectic career of scoring and producing music for television, editing hymnals, programming for diplomatic and cultural institutions, conducting orchestras and choruses... and composing and arranging.

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D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

D.C. METRO THEATRE ARTS

 Electrifying. Awakening. These are words to describe the heart-rending workshop presentation of STIRRING THE WATERS ACROSS AMERICA performed at Studio K at The REACH. To call it anything less would be just plain wrong.

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COURIER JOURNAL

WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE

WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE

The annual festival, the nation’s leading incubator for new play development, is a longstanding cultural highlight for theatre lovers, artists and producers from across the country.

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WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE

WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE

WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE

 Williams has channeled [his] varied passions into a catalogue that spans genres...

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BROADWAY WORLD

WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

A powerful new musical premiered in a staged reading by composer/ playwright Nolan Williams, Jr., September 25 in Washington, DC...

DEVINE HAMER GRAY

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THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

The Philadelphia Community Mass is Williams’ baby, a multi-composer work that uses the Bernstein Mass as its general inspiration. It was impressive a few months ago at  Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church. And here, sporting new orchestrations by Williams, ...[it] had even greater impact.  

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THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

The focus is on Leonard Bernstein and his "advocacy for social justice,  particularly the way in which he leveraged the platforms that he had in  order to extend opportunities to a diverse group of artists..."  

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THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Philly astronaut Bluford gets his props at the Mann - and a soaring orchestral number in his honor...


Williams has a musical language all his own. It brims with vernacular American optimism.

READ ARTICLE

Like so many artists around the globe, Nolan's work has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Nolan had the opportunity to share his candid thoughts with Michael Brodeur, classical music critic for The Washington Post. Here's a link to the article, published on April 9, 2020.

READ ARTICLE

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Copyright © 2020 Nolan Williams, Jr. - All Rights Reserved.

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