Full Text of HR1366 97th General Assembly
HR1366 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Edna | 4 | | Williams, who passed away on December 31, 2012; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Edna Williams was a native of Chicago and attended | 6 | | Chicago public schools; while in elementary school, she began | 7 | | her vocal studies with the distinguished vocal teacher, Stella | 8 | | Sanger, at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, and piano with | 9 | | Anna Maitland and Ida B. Davis; after graduating from Parker | 10 | | High School, she furthered her studies by enrolling for 2 years | 11 | | at the former Wilson Junior College (now Kennedy-King College), | 12 | | where she served as President of the Music Club, and one year | 13 | | at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where she | 14 | | studied voice with professor LeRoy Hamp; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, In 1954, Edna Williams enrolled at the Chicago | 16 | | Musical College of Roosevelt University, studying piano with | 17 | | Dr. Felix Ganz and voice with the eminent Dr. Harvey Rignel; | 18 | | she subsequently earned her bachelor's degree in music in 1957 | 19 | | and her master's degree in music in 1959; while attending | 20 | | Roosevelt, she was the recipient of the Sue Cowan Hintz Voice | 21 | | Award, the Oliver Ditson Voice Scholarship, and the coveted | 22 | | John Hay Whitney Fellowship, which afforded her 15 months of | 23 | | study in Vienna, Austria, with such fine teachers as Baron Hans |
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| 1 | | Karg-Bebenburg and Professor Erik Werba; while in Austria, she | 2 | | was presented in 2 recitals and was critically acclaimed; upon | 3 | | her return to the United States in 1960, she toured Illinois, | 4 | | Indiana, and Ohio in recital and sang many times on Chicago | 5 | | radio and television; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 1965, Edna Williams joined the faculty of | 7 | | Northern Illinois University, where she retired in 1994 as a | 8 | | Professor of Music; she also presented faculty recitals, | 9 | | appeared as a soloist with the choral ensembles and the NIU | 10 | | Philharmonic, and sang at many of the leading churches of all | 11 | | denominations in the community; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Edna Williams was a former professional member of | 13 | | the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus and appeared on several | 14 | | occasions as a soprano soloist with the Chicago Chamber | 15 | | Orchestra; for over 20 years, she was the soprano soloist in | 16 | | the annual presentation of Handel's "Messiah"; in 1977, she | 17 | | appeared a guest soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of | 18 | | Stavanger, Norway, performing repertoire in Norwegian and | 19 | | English; in 1983, she was presented in concert in the Martin | 20 | | Luther King, Jr. Chapel on the campus of Morehouse College in | 21 | | Atlanta, Georgia; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Edna Williams was a member of the National | 23 | | Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., where she served as a |
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| 1 | | board member, chairperson of the Artists Directory, and | 2 | | national and regional scholarship chairperson; she also served | 3 | | as second vice-president and scholarship chairperson of the | 4 | | Chicago Music Association; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Edna Williams was a life-long member of Monumental | 6 | | Baptist Church and was appointed to serve as the church's | 7 | | Minister of Music in 1992; she also served on the Monumental | 8 | | Credit Union Scholarship Committee and served as the | 9 | | organization's treasurer and first president; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 1989, Edna Williams was the recipient of an | 11 | | honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from the Chicago Baptist | 12 | | Institute in recognition of her achievements and contributions | 13 | | to the Christian ministry; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 16 | | we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of | 17 | | Edna Williams; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the family of Edna Williams as an expression of | 20 | | our sympathy.
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