John McLaughlin Williams facts for kids

John McLaughlin Williams (born in 1957) is an amazing American musician. He is famous for being a conductor, which means he leads orchestras. He is also a talented violinist. He even won a Grammy Award for his music!

John's Musical Journey

John McLaughlin Williams grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is an African American musician. He loved music from a young age and studied at several top music schools. These included the Boston University School of Music and the New England Conservatory. He learned to play the violin from a famous teacher named Dorothy DeLay. He also studied how to lead an orchestra (conducting) and how to write music (composition).

Leading Orchestras

John has traveled all over the world to lead many different orchestras. He has conducted famous groups like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

He has also recorded many CDs for a music company called Naxos Records. On these CDs, he has helped bring back to life music by American composers from the early 1900s. These composers include Henry Hadley and John Alden Carpenter. John's recordings have also helped people rediscover the music of George Frederick McKay.

Grammy Award Winner

In 2007, John McLaughlin Williams won a Grammy Award. This is one of the biggest awards in the music world! He won it for his recording of a piece called Oiseaux exotiques by Olivier Messiaen. For this recording, he led the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. He has also been nominated for a Grammy Award four other times, which is a huge honor.

As a Violinist

Besides conducting, John is also a skilled violinist. He has performed as a solo artist all over the United States. He used to be the assistant leader (concertmaster) of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. He also played with the Boston Symphony and was a member of the Houston Symphony. He was even the concertmaster of the Virginia Symphony.

Awards and Recognitions

John McLaughlin Williams has received many important awards and nominations for his musical work:

• 2010 Grammy Nomination for Best Chamber Music Performance
• 2010 Grammy Nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)
• 2008 Grammy Nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)
• 2007 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) (This is the one he won!)
• 2006 Grammy Nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)

Discography

A discography is a list of all the recordings an artist has made. Here are some of John McLaughlin Williams' recordings:

As a Conductor

• Deon Nielsen Price : Yellow Jade Banquet and other Orchestral Works
• Ernest Bloch ; Violin Concerto, Benjamin Lees: Violin Concerto (This was nominated for a Grammy in 2008!)
• Nicolas Flagello : Missa Sinfonico, Arnold Rosner: Symphony No.5 Missa sine Cantoribus super Salve Regina'
• Olivier Messiaen : Oiseaux Exotiques (This recording won a Grammy in 2007!)
• Nicolas Flagello : Violin Concerto / Orchestral Excerpts from the Operas / Orchestral Songs
• John Alden Carpenter : Adventures in a Perambulator / Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2
• Nicolas Flagello : Piano Concerto No. 1 / Dante's Farewell / Concerto Sinfonico
• Henry Kimball Hadley: Symphony No. 4 / The Ocean / The Culprit Fay
• George Frederick McKay : From a Moonlit Ceremony / Harbor Narrative
• George Frederick McKay : Violin Concerto / Sinfonietta No. 4 / Song Over the Great Plains
• Quincy Porter : Viola Concerto (This was nominated for a Grammy in 2010!)
• Corentin Boissier : Glamour Concerto / Philip Marlowe Concerto

As a Violinist

• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor : Chamber Music; Nonet, Fantasiestucke, Five Negro Melodies for Piano Trio
• Chevalier de Saint-Georges : Six String Quartets