"Lori Williams seamlessly moves from Jazz to R&B in ways the listener can feel at home with her in either genre. She has set the bar for vocalists to come." -Terri Lyne Carrington (3x Grammy-winning drummer/composer/producer)
Acclaimed international Jazz and Soul vocalist Lori Williams is turning a corner. In possession of a most impressive resume as a performing artist, music educator, songwriter, producer, vocalist and musical theater actress, her reputation and level of respect are top shelf and unimpeachable. Many aspiring singers and vocal students look up to Lori as well – be it in classrooms, the multiple church, community and concert choirs she conducts, or the clinics she runs through her organization - Positive Music for Positive Minds (PositiveMusicPM.org / PMPM). Her annual summer vocal jazz symposium and tour have taken her to Europe (Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Russia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Ukraine), Japan and across the USA, performing in festivals and conducting vocal jazz workshops. She is currently teaching voice privately through PMPM....
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"Lori Williams seamlessly moves from Jazz to R&B in ways the listener can feel at home with her in either genre. She has set the bar for vocalists to come." -Terri Lyne Carrington (3x Grammy-winning drummer/composer/producer)
Acclaimed international Jazz and Soul vocalist Lori Williams is turning a corner. In possession of a most impressive resume as a performing artist, music educator, songwriter, producer, vocalist and musical theater actress, her reputation and level of respect are top shelf and unimpeachable. Many aspiring singers and vocal students look up to Lori as well – be it in classrooms, the multiple church, community and concert choirs she conducts, or the clinics she runs through her organization - Positive Music for Positive Minds (PositiveMusicPM.org / PMPM). Her annual summer vocal jazz symposium and tour have taken her to Europe (Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Russia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Ukraine), Japan and across the USA, performing in festivals and conducting vocal jazz workshops. She is currently teaching voice privately through PMPM.
As an educator for over 25 years, Lori has received many honors including Outstanding Music Teacher in the October 2000 issue of Teaching Music, the 2007 Superintendent's Arts Teacher of the Year Award, and the 2010 Vincent E. Reed Teacher of the Year. As a performing artist, Lori was nominated for a 2014 Helen Hayes Award as an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical for her role as Ella Fitzgerald in "Ladies Swing the Blues: A Jazz Fable" (directed by Thomas W. Jones). Lori has received letters of recognition for her performances by President Joseph Biden, Speaker of the House John Boehner, and Maryland Senator C. Anthony Muse.
Ultimately, it is her international work as a singer that most satisfies her and has brought the widest amount of recognition. With each performance in a new territory come fresh admirers that sponsor her to other countries. Though her work has also included background and featured singing for artists such as Gospel's - Yolanda Adams and Walter Hawkins, R&B's - Maysa, Howard Hewett, Will Downing and Phil Perry, Soul's - Lloyd Price, Jerry Butler, Ben E. King, and Gene Chandler, Contemporary Jazz's - Bob Baldwin, Stanley Jordan, Nathan East, Najee, Althea Rene, Nick Colionne, Norman Brown and Tom Browne, Traditional Jazz's - Slide Hampton, Terri Lyne Carrington, Winard Harper, and Christian Havel, super producer/composer/singer - `Angela Winbush, and Tap Dance sensation - Savion Glover, Lori is most focused on unveiling songs from her "dream book". Lori has currently produced and released six independent CDs and one EP under her label - LoriJazz Records; and is working on new music.
ODU Residency Schedule:
Thursday, April 7
1:30 p.m. Talk in Jazz History Class
3:00 p.m. Clinic, Diehn 1201
4:30 p.m. Open rehearsal with ODU Jazz Orchestra. Diehn 1105
Friday, April 8
10:00 a.m. Clinic, Diehn 1201
1:00 p.m. Open rehearsal with ODU Jazz Choir, Chandler Hall
Sunday, April 10
4:00 p.m. Concert, ODU Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Choir, Chandler Hall (Free)
Monday, April 11
1:00 p.m. Clinic, Diehn 1201
7:30 p.m. Concert with the John Toomey Trio, Chandler Hall (Diehn Concert Series)
Free parking is available in Garage E, 49th Street and Bluestone Avenue, and in the circular lot between the F. Ludwig Diehn Center for the Performing Arts and Webb University Center.
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