Simi Valley, CA – The Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library and Museum is throwing an 83rd birthday bash
for pianist Roger Williams. The catch is, Williams
must provide the entertainment for his own party, for
14 ½
hours.
“On your birthday you should get to do the things
you love, and there is nothing more that I like to
do than play the piano and take people’s requests,” said
Williams, who is Billboard Magazines top charting piano
recording artist in history.
Williams set his current
marathon record at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
in Atlanta, Georgia on his 80th birthday by playing
for 14 hours.
“We have expelled music from our public schools
and I’m on a national crusade to save the music.
This marathon is designed to raise public awareness
and give me a platform to push the importance of the
arts in
our schools,” said Williams.
“Roger Williams is a national treasure and we
here at the Reagan Library are thrilled to host this
record breaking event,” said Duke Blackwood,
executive director of the Reagan Library.
The marathon will be held on October 1st, Williams’ 83rd
birthday, from 8:00 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. at the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley
and is free to the public. Birthday cake will be served
beginning at 12:00 p.m. until supplies last. All birthday
related events are free to attend; regular admission
rates apply to visit the Museum and Air Force One Pavilion.
“I won’t have a planned program for the
marathon, I’m just going to take the people’s
requests. I know over 10,000 songs so I’m sure
we won’t run out
of material even after 14 hours,” said Williams
who will play a nine
foot concert grand from Steinway & Sons.
Known as the Pianist to the Presidents, Williams has
played for nine Chief Executives beginning with Harry
Truman. Williams played at the White House for President
and Mrs. Reagan, and is written about in the
recently published “Reagan Diaries.”
Still performing concerts all across the country, Williams
has recorded 118 albums, 18 of them gold and platinum.
His hits include Born Free, The Impossible Dream, Till,
Near You, Lara’s Theme from Dr.
Zhivago, Theme
from Somewhere In Time and of course Autumn Leaves
which still stands as the number one piano recording
of all time.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library,
located in Simi Valley, California, houses over 55
million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal
papers and over 100,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling
the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It now also serves
as the final resting place of America’s 40th
President. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every
day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s
Day. Museum admission fees: $12.00 general admission;
$9.00 for seniors 62 and over; $3.00 for children 11-17;
and free for children 10 and under. For more information,
please call (800) 410-8354. www.reaganlibrary.com
