How do you follow an act like that? Dr. Carol Williams, former full time Civic Organist in San Diego, CA, has moved to Virginia and is currently living in the Lynchburg area and serving as artist in residence at Court St. United Methodist Church in Lynchburg. She has been busy since moving. In addition to her church duties at the organ, she still plays organ concerts all over the world, including back in San Diego on the Spreckels organ in Balboa Park, composes, and produces CD’s of her own compositions and organ performances. In June, 2018 she organized the first Lynchburg (now Virginia) International Organ Festival, a week long festival bringing renowned organists from all over to Lynchburg to perform. That yearly festival will continue.

The U. K. - born Williams studied at the Royal Academy of Music where it is reported that she got into trouble for playing ragtime instead of Rachmoninoff. When she finished her graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music, she became the first woman civic organist in the world taking up the San Diego post in 2001, where she played weekly concerts on the world’s largest outdoor organ (see Alla Breve On-Line, December 2016). Now she plays weekly Sunday services at Court St. where she took over from retiring, long-time organist, George Clark who had been that church’s organist for 52 years.

If we are lucky, we will get to hear her one day soon. Watch this space.

San Diego Civic Organist Emeritus Dr. Carol Williams