Kimo Williams

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Kimo Williams is a Chicago based musician, composer and professor who plays with a number of bands including Kimotion and the Lt. Dan Band. While he is best known for his work with the Lt. Dan Band, Williams has worked on a number of other projects including: award-winning photography, releasing four CDs, writing a screenplay and working on an opera. Cognizant of the opportunities he had, as well as those he didn't due to a childhood in which he moved often, Williams speaks to students about his history and their future^[1].

[edit] Biography

One of Williams' earliest, and most often cited, musical opportunities was in Vietnam when an Army entertainment director heard him play and suggested that he perform for the troops in the field^[2]. The Soul Coordinators was born of this request and started Kimo Williams' long resume of performances, both with bands and on his own.

After leaving Vietnam in 1970, Kimo used his GI Benefit and attended the Berklee College of Music. While a student he founded The Paumalu Symphony, now known as Kimotion ^[3]. After teaching at Berklee for one year, he graduated in 1976 with a BA in Composition^[4]. His compositions include works for chamber ensembles and orchestras and have been performed by groups worldwide including the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta.^[5] In 1997, Williams wrote the music for the Steppenwolf Theatre production of A Streetcar Named Desire, leading to his partnership with Gary Sinise and, in 2003, the creation of the Lt. Dan Band. In 2008, Williams' Fanfare for Life was performed during the Alabama Symphony's annual musical tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.^[6]

Williams' departure from Vietnam did not signify the end of his military career, in January 1980, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army. When he left the army in 1987 to pursue composing full-time he had risen to the rank of Captain^[7]. Further, his graduation from Berklee signified the beginning of his time in education and Williams is now a Coordinator/Faculty Advisor for Music Business at Columbia College in Chicago, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1989.

[edit] Honors

Kimo Williams was named Chicagoan of the Year in 2006^[8] and was recognized for a lifetime of work including the 1998 founding of the United States Vietnam Art Program.

In 1999, he received the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra's Composer Award^[9] and has been the recipient of honors from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Savannah Symphony Orchestra. Buffalo Soldiers, one of his most well-known works, was the result of a commission by The West Point Academy to celebrate their 2002 Bicentennial.

In 2007 he was named a Fulbright Specialist for his works in music, education and history.