Joan Franks Williams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joan Franks Williams
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Joan Franks Williams
April 1, 1930 |
| Died | January 30, 2003 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | American |
Joan Franks Williams (April 1, 1930 – January 30, 2003) was an American composer. She was known for bringing new and exciting music to audiences in both Seattle, USA, and Israel. She also created her own unique musical pieces.
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Her Amazing Life
Joan Franks Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 1, 1930. Her parents loved classical music, and because of them, Joan grew up surrounded by it. She learned to play the piano and viola. She also went to many live concerts.
Joan studied music at the High School of Music and the Arts in Manhattan. She continued her music studies in college. She earned a bachelor's degree in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music in 1952. Later, she earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 1961.
While in New York, she met Irving Williams, who would become her husband. They got married in 1954. In 1962, Joan and Irving moved to Seattle, Washington.
Bringing New Music to Seattle
In Seattle, Joan started a group called New Dimensions in Music (NDM). This group helped share new and modern music with people in the Pacific Northwest. Through NDM, Joan also created the very first electronic music studio in Seattle. This was a big step for music in the city!
Life in Israel
In 1971, Joan and her family moved to Tel Aviv in Israel. She continued her NDM concert series there. She also worked with the Israel Broadcasting Authority. This meant she was in charge of broadcasting modern chamber music across the country.
During her time in Israel, Joan helped perform over 150 musical pieces by 100 different composers. She also shared her own compositions. She represented Israel at important music events in Europe four times.
Returning Home
Joan returned to Seattle in 1988. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Even so, she and her husband enjoyed hiking, skiing, and spending time with their grandchildren. Joan Franks Williams passed away on January 30, 2003, at age 72. She died from problems related to Parkinson's disease.
Her Musical Journey
Joan's love for music started early. Her parents often took her to classical concerts in New York. She learned to play the violin and piano when she was a child. She continued her music studies through high school and college.
At the Manhattan School of Music, she studied with famous teachers like Vittorio Giannini and Stefan Wolpe. When she moved to Seattle, she set up the city's first electronic music studio. She also taught about writing and creating modern music.
Her Creative Work
Throughout her career, Joan Franks Williams was a composer, conductor, and organizer of music events. She created over 30 of her own musical pieces. She also helped perform about 150 modern and classical works by more than 100 composers. Many people say she helped bring modern music to Seattle and Israel.
New Dimensions in Music
In Seattle, Joan was best known for creating the New Dimensions in Music (NDM) concert series. She continued these concerts after moving to Israel. These concerts showed both classical and modern music. Joan wanted audiences to experience the new sounds happening in music.
Unique Compositions
Joan also started the Israeli Composers Plus One Concert Series. These concerts often included music that invited the audience to take part. This idea influenced her own compositions. Many of her works included acting, improvisation, and staging.
For example, her 1975 piece Shimshon Hagibor (which means Samson the Hero) was a mini comic melodrama. Another piece, Frogs (from 1974/1975), used a recorded tape of frogs croaking! Joan made modern music interesting and sometimes even funny.
Her Works
Joan wrote over thirty musical pieces. About twenty of these were created while she lived in Israel. Most of her works were chamber music, which means music for a small group of instruments.
Some of her well-known works include:
- From Paterson (based on a poem by William Carlos Williams)
- Kassandra (1963)
- Haiku (chamber, 1969)
- Haiku (orchestra, 1972)
- Frogs (for voices, instruments, and tape, 1974)
- Samson the Hero (for voices, instruments, and tape, 1975)
- You too, Brutus! (for mezzo-soprano solo, 1976)
- Rudolph Heinemann in Bonn (for trombone, 1978)
- Sevenths to Eight (1979)
- The Love of Therese du Meun (for voice, piano, and viola, 1980)
- Song of Songs (1983)
- Leah (1986)
One of her compositions involved a sculptor building a box around the audience during a performance. The instruments made sounds like hammers and wood clanking. Another piece mixed an orchestra with city sounds and a bus! Her piece Frogs premiered in 1974. It was in a modern style and included frog croaks, sung poems, and instruments.
Awards and Recognition
- She is known for bringing modern concert music to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
- She earned a Bachelor's in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music.
- She earned Bachelor's and master's degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.
- She founded New Dimensions in Music (NDM), a group that promoted new music in Seattle and Israel.
- She started the first electronic music studio in Seattle.
- She helped bring modern concerts and new music to Israel through NDM and the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
- She represented Israel at the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days in Europe four times. She also served on ISCM's international jury.
