On Sunday, February 10th at 7:30 p.m., organist C. Randall “Randy” Williams will return to the site of one of his “largest and finest” organ installations ever, when he performs a free concert in Boggs Chapel at Randolph-Macon Academy.
Five years ago, Williams—who is the President of C.R. Williams, Incorporated, in Hagerstown, MD—installed Randolph-Macon Academy’s Allen Renaissance Quantum™ Model Q-385 Organ. He spent an entire summer “voicing” the organ to bring out the best sound in accordance with its venue, Boggs Chapel. “I wanted to ensure that the end result would bring out the best sound in each of its hundreds of voices, as the unusually fine acoustics of Boggs Chapel beautifies each voice to an extraordinary degree – even with a large audience present,” said Williams. “This organ actually contains ‘suites’ of stops to four complete organs of different historic periods, contained in one console and quickly accessible by the organist.”
“It’s as close as we would ever come to custom designing and building such an instrument for the chapel,” said R-MA Bandmaster Ed Richards. “His performance on our organ is rather much of a homecoming for him…him coming back to what he considers to be one of his largest and finest organ installations ever.”
Richards called Williams “an accomplished organist,” and Williams’ resume proves this to be true. He is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, and has studied at the graduate level at Peabody as well as the State Academy of Music in Lübeck, Germany and the University of Kansas. In addition to serving as the organist at ten different churches during his career, he has played solo organ recitals throughout DC, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Some of those locations include the Washington National Cathedral, the National City Christian Church, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and St. John’s Church Lafayette Square, “Church of the Presidents,” all in Washington, DC; Christ Lutheran Church in Bethesda, MD; St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis, MD; First Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, MD; Trinity Episcopal Church in Chambersburg, PA; and many others.
Williams has been the organ accompanist for major oratorios from Washington DC and Baltimore, MD to Mercersburg, PA, Hagerstown, MD and Shepherdstown, WV. He has taught private organ students since 1969 and has conducted numerous master classes and workshops. Many of his former organ students occupy prominent positions in churches today. In fact, the day after the concert, Williams will give a presentation to Randolph-Macon Academy cadets to foster their appreciation of all the organ’s capabilities.
While there is no charge for admission to the concert, a freewill offering will be accepted to help offset Williams’ travel expenses. In the case of inclement weather, the concert will be held February 17, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. (please note the time difference). For more information, contact Ed Richards at erichards@rma.edu.
Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA), founded in 1892, is a college-preparatory, coeducational day and boarding school for students in grades 6 through 12. Students in grades 9-12 participate in R-MA’s 91st Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and have the option to participate in a unique flight program. R-MA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is located in Front Royal, VA.
###