2021 Founder’s Concert

Dr. Williams was the first African-American presenter of a major classical music concert series in the United States and it is to him that we offer this special tribute. His love of classical music began as a child when he attended concerts by legendary artists such as tenor Roland Hayes and contralto Marian Anderson, In 1958, at a time when the classical music world, and much of the rest of society, was racially segregated, he began presenting artists of all races and organizing racially diverse audiences. Over 40-plus years in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, he introduced to the world some of the finest musicians of our time.

Four Seasons Arts continues this legacy by presenting annual concerts in Oakland, California, providing artists’ seminars and master classes for Oakland public school students, organizing concerts at the Alameda County Jail, and featuring online concerts and programs.

This annual “Founder’s Concert” reaffirms Dr. Williams’ belief that Art creates images of beauty that enrich and ennoble as they inspire us to achieve the highest and best in the human experience. He felt that race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and language were artificial barriers and he used music as his vehicle for celebrating the enduring commonality of the human family.