Julius P. Williams Composes Song for 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial Rededication The Boston Children's Chorus will perform the song, Heroes, at the rededication ceremony on June 1.
By
Colette Greenstein
May 12, 2022
Professor Julius P. Williams
Image by Dave Green
Julius P. Williams, a professor in Berklee College of Music's Composition Department, has written an original song that will be performed by the Boston Children's Chorus at the National Rededication of the Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, June 1, at 11:00 a.m. in front of the memorial, on Boston Common, opposite the Massachusetts State House. The event is free and open to the public.
In addition to his role as professor, Williams is the artistic director and conductor of the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra, a composer in residence with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and cover to maestro Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra. In 2019, the award-winning conductor was named the first African American president of the Conductors Guild, a global membership organization encompassing conductors of symphony, opera, ballet, choral, band, contemporary, and chamber ensembles. And in 2020, Williams was one of three Berklee professors commissioned to write music for the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Residence Composer Project.
On behalf of the Partnership to Renew the Shaw 54th Memorial, I want to say how thrilled we are with Heroes, the composition that Julius Williams created for our national rededication of the memorial. It is stirring, powerful, and will be a perfect piece to set the stage for the ceremony, said Elizabeth Vizza, president, Friends of the Public Garden. We not only are celebrating the restoration of this memorial but are using the occasion as a call to action in the ongoing work of social justice and racial equity. We couldnt be happier with Williams's piece to dramatize this moment and inspire us to this cause.
The Partnership to Renew the Shaw 54th Memorial, made up of the National Park Service, the City of Boston, Friends of the Public Garden, and the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, oversaw the 18-month restoration. The memorial honors the courageous efforts of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the men of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, one of the first enlisted units of Black men fighting in the American Civil War, for their service and heroism.
I am honored and humbled to write a work that is so important to our history, said Williams. A regiment of African Americans who joined the army to fight for their right to exist as free people and demonstrated immense valor and bravery that can never be forgotten must always be commemorated.
During the course of his career, Williams has composed operas, symphonies, and chorus works for stage, concert hall, film, and television. The Bronx-born conductor and pianist has recorded 10 albums, and performed with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra of Croatia, the Costa del Sol Music Festival in Spain, and the Volvodanksa Symphony of Serbia.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
From left to right: Berklee President Erica Muhl; honorees Chuck Rainey, Lalah Hathaway, and James Newton Howard; and Berklee Provost Larry Simpson
Image by Mike Spencer
Berklee Honors Ringo Starr, Lalah Hathaway, James Newton Howard, and Chuck Rainey at Commencement The entertainment legends received honorary doctorates for their immeasurable impact on music, film and television, and popular culture.
Latest
Zitong (Selina) Zhang
Image courtesy of the artist
Can You Write an Uplifting Song About the Climate Crisis? Student Zitong (Selina) Zhang talks about the inspiration behind her new song Life, a meditation on climate change and its impact on our world.
Berklee City Music students on stage at the Berklee Performance Center
Image by Dave Green
Berklee City Music Receives Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts The $25,000 award will support City Music's High School Academy and Preparatory Academy programs.
Professor Julius P. Williams
Image by Dave Green
Julius P. Williams Composes Song for 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial Rededication The Boston Children's Chorus will perform the song, Heroes, at the rededication ceremony on June 1.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
25. November 2025 Cecilia Pierron
Last week, we took part in OnDAM 2025, an educational conference fully dedicated to DAM, hosted by Activo Consulting. The ...
25/11/2025
25 Nov 2025
VEON's QazCode and MeetKai Sign Agreement to Power National LLM...
25/11/2025
UKTV has acquired a high-profile slate of US dramas from Paramount Global Conten...
25/11/2025
A symphony of genius, rivalry and vengeance, boldly reimagined from Peter Shaffe...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Cinematography World
Read the article
FilmLight has finalised the prestigious 2025 FilmLight Colour Awards jury and welcomed award-winning...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Prensario
Read the article
La serie fue dirigida por Juli n de Tavira, Rodrigo Santos, y David Leche Ruiz, con direcci n de fotograf a a...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
The awards, celebr...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Televisual
Read the article
Already live in Los Angeles and rolling out in New York and London, Nara gives producers, colourists, conform ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Digital Media World
Read the article
ARTONE post-house in Tokyo is the first facility in Japan to integrate Baselight M, choosing its prec...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
Once hidden in post-production suites, the artists who make movies and TV shows look the way they ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Deadline
Read the article
The Brutalist' & Bad Bunny's Nuevayol' Music Video Among 2025 FilmLight Colour Award Winners - Cam...
24/11/2025
Robyn made her long-awaited return to the stage this week, as Spotify and Acne Studios brought friends and top fans together for an unforgettable evening at the...
24/11/2025
After more than two years of redevelopment, FC Barcelona returned to its spiritual home on November 22, hosting Athletic Club in the first La Liga match at the ...
24/11/2025
24 Nov 2025
Kyivstar Launches Starlink Direct to Cell Satellite Connectivity in Ukraine Today's Launch Makes Ukraine the First Country in Europe Where Star...
24/11/2025
Ahead of the new ninth series of Dancing with the Stars, kicking off in January 2026, RT and Shinawil have announced the arrival of three new faces to the hit ...
21/11/2025
Fans have been counting down the days until the final theatrical chapter of Wicked is revealed. To celebrate the highly anticipated release of Wicked: For Good ...
21/11/2025
Last week, Spotify turned up the volume in Seoul with the return of Spotify Hous...
21/11/2025
Wiesbaden, November 21, 2025. The SGL Carbon site in Meitingen has reason to celebrate as one of its trainees received a special award. Elias Stemmer was honore...
21/11/2025
Sky Media's £2m award-winning sustainability initiative crowns its first charity as this year's standout changemakerFriday 21 November 2025
GoodGym nam...
21/11/2025
As COP30 draws to a close, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ...
20/11/2025
Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...
20/11/2025
Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...
20/11/2025
For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...
20/11/2025
This year's ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards' nearly ...
20/11/2025
15 March 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy and Vericom are pleased to announce the recent deployment of Cinegy Archive for production and as...
20/11/2025
6 September 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
FIC Turkey supplies media content to Pay TV under Fox TV Channel brands in Turkey.
At the start of s...
20/11/2025
25 June 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Last month VIVA finalized its Cinegy installation in order to produce and broadcast the World Cup Brazil ...
20/11/2025
1 October 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
With 5 locations spread out around Baden-W rttemberg, Schw bisch Media required a scalable end to end s...
20/11/2025
27 April 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy, which develops and produces media asset management products that are used in flagship production...
20/11/2025
12 August 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 26 October 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
5 November 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 3 November 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
Julius P. Williams Composes Song for 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial Rededication The Boston Children's Chorus will perform the song, Heroes, at the rededication ceremony on June 1. 
