Welcome to the third edition of the Roger Williams newsletter, KEY NOTES - and apologies for the delay of almost a year in its issuance. Roger underwent surgery on his right thumb in May , which meant a three-month recovery period. I am pleased to say that all went well. He has recovered very nicely and is “back in business” of performing -- and is playing better than ever!!
-- Pauline Vang

PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY OF ORANGE COUNTY
Back on February 5th he was brought back by overwhelming demand to do a concert in Newport Beach, CA. at the Sutton Place Hotel. It was sponsored by the Big Canyon/Spyglass Hill Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Chairman of the committee was Jacque Heebner of Jacque Designs, Inc. of Beverly Hills, who introduced Roger at the affair, which helped to benefit the children’s program of the Philharmonic Society. This same committee awarded Roger its inaugural Spirit of the Future Award in May 2003.

DRAKE UNIVERSITY
On May 14, just two days before his surgery, Roger played a concert at Drake University in Des Moines and he was presented with an Honorary Doctorate. As most of you know, Roger attended Drake and earned a Master’s Degree in 1951.

OCEAN GROVE NEW JERSEY
In mid-August Roger was back doing his concerts - and played the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, N.J. Several of the people from Steinway & Sons in NYC came down to see him perform. Steinway is now shipping his Limited Edition Gold Steinway around the country for him to use at his concerts. Speaking of Steinway & Sons, they honored Roger again this year by featuring him - and the gold piano - in two articles of their 2005 edition of their annual magazine. The one article, which also featured photos, covered his marathon in Atlanta last year at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library when Roger and President Carter co-celebrated their 80th birthdays.

FREED THEATER
Anyone who follows the “Hour of Power” from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA. know that the televised ministry has been celebrating its 50th anniversary. On September 25th Roger played a special concert in the newly built Freed Theater in the Welcoming Center to benefit the Cathedral’s Jubilee Fund. The concert was preceded by a dinner and followed by a reception at which attendees could meet Roger and the Schullers.
Tickets for the concert only were $300; concert and dinner $500; and all three $800. Roger performed to a capacity audience that included special guests Pat Boone, Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo.

ARVELLA SCHULLER HONORED
On October 12 Arvella Schuller, wife of Dr. Schuller, was honored by the church’s women’s group for her 50 years of service to the church. Roger had the honor of playing for this event, too.

HOYT SHERMAN AUDITORIUM
On October 4th, just 3 days after celebrating his 81st birthday, Roger returned to Des Moines to play a concert at the Hoyt Sherman Auditorium (where he played his very first recital) to benefit the new Iowa Hall of Pride at Drake University. (Click here for review) The following evening he was honored at a ceremony at the Hall of Pride in Hy-Vee Hall where they unveiled a life-sized wax figure of Roger sitting at a gold Steinway piano made especially
for the display. Steinway & Sons president and CEO, Bruce Stevens, and his wife flew in from NYC for the occasion. (Click here for review.)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Roger returned to Las Vegas to do a three-day engagement October 14-16 at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino in the Showroom Theater. He had a full house every night and I had the privilege of attending all three shows. I can truly say that he IS playing better than ever! I was seated “down front” and he was kind enough to introduce me from the stage all three nights. His daughter Laura and her husband were in attendance the 2nd night and sat at my table. It was good to see them again. In attendance the 3rd night were a group from the Southwest Nevada division of Steinway & Sons. That same night I had the pleasure of meeting the aforementioned Jacque Heebner when we happened to share a table. Roger is always a big hit at the Suncoast and he will be returning there March 24-26 for another 3-day engagement.

STEINWAY & SONS ROGER WILLIAMS PIANO MARATHON
On November 3rd, Steinway & Sons held the Roger Williams Piano Marathon at Steinway Hall, their landmark showroom, at 109 W. 57th St., in New York City. It was a special concert event in which Roger played from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. - a total of 14 hours - and broke his own record (previously 13 1/2 hours) for a marathon piano concert. The marathon was held to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his hit record, “Autumn Leaves”, and to raise awareness for the need for school music program funding. The $258,000 Gold Steinway piano, designed in his honor, was brought in for him to perform the audience’s requests. Steinway placed a big ad in the New York Times, including his picture, on November 3rd to call attention to this big event. It was a huge success - and was referred to as being sensational. Without a doubt, Roger Williams is sensational !!

IN MEMORIAM

James Frederick Williams

October 24, 1959
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December 11, 2004