Christopher McWilliams, organist at Princeton United Methodist Church (PrincetonUMC), will present some of his own compositions at a free farewell concert on Saturday, June 16 at 5 p.m. at the church, on the corner of Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue. In a program entitled “Sound the Pipes: A Pipe Organ Fiesta” he will also perform works by Bach, Franck, and Bossi.
Mc Williams majored in organ and piano performance, graduating summa cum laude from Westminster Choir College, where he also earned a master’s degree in piano pedagogy and piano performance. At Princeton UMC he accompanies multiple vocal choirs, instrumentalists, the handbell choir and the musicals presented by the youth and handbell choirs.
After seven years at Princeton UMC, McWilliams will leave to pursue his Doctorate in Musical Arts with an emphasis on music theory. At his studio in Lawrenceville, he teaches piano and music theory.
Remember the opening scene from Disney’s Fantasia? With the image of the conductor (Leopold Stowkowski) lifting his arm for the crashing downbeat? That’s J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d minor, and it’s featured on Christopher McWilliams’ organ recital on Saturday, October 25, at 2 p.m., at Princeton United Methodist Church (PUMC)
A Vermont native, McWilliams has a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Organ Performance and a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where he studied with Phyllis Lehrer, Matthew Lewis, and Kenneth Cowan. He teaches private lessons in piano at the Westminster Conservatory of Music, at PUMC, and in students’ homes, and is a frequent accompanist at the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church.