Jerry Williams. In Memoriam

Via Legacy we have known the death of the composer Jerry Williams (1955-2022);

Jerry's profession included arranging, performing, conducting, and composing. Jerry loved live performance, and with his years of experience, he became an expert at putting live shows together. His ability crossed a broad spectrum of genres as he worked with numerous symphonies throughout the country and artists with varying styles such as Stevie Wonder, Garth Bro
oks, Barry Manilow, and Britney Spears. Jerry wrote the music for two original musicals, Jane Eyre and The Best Medicine, and he created and arranged all music for the Las Vegas Donny & Marie Osmond show. Jerry also released Portrait of a People, classic hymns he arranged and original works he composed; he loved sacred music. Jerry touched countless lives with his talent, always shining a light on others while lifting them to sound and perform their best.

The alluded Jane Eyre was a musical adaptation where Jerry Williams composed the music and Patricia York the lyrics. It was premiered in 1994 at the Hale Center Theatre in Salt Lake City (on the Patricia York's YouTube channel you can find a "synthesis of many productions of the musical since 1994" which covers the musical almost entirely). The show was revived several times in the last decades. The latest one probably was in Fullerton, CA and had none other than Larry King supporting it. A contemporary interview gives voice to the composer and his relationship with the piece:

The first time Williams read the story, it was via York’s script, not Brontë’s book. But he was hooked immediately.

“Patricia had written one of the most dramatic openings that I’ve ever seen. The first nine minutes are just amazing. That’s what got me.”

Williams is a classically trained composer and loves orchestral music, which influenced his writing for “Jane Eyre.”

“I scored (the music) for 23 musicians in the pit, which is a little ambitious these days. I’m a big classical nerd. We recorded demos of the music with the Prague Philharmonic, and if you listen to excerpts you’d probably say it’s in the vein of ‘Les Misérables.’ That’s what I was going for.”

The titles hint at scenes and emotions Williams thinks are important: “A Passionate Goodness,” “Prosperity’s Got a Price,” “Vernal Green,” “Lamp in the Dark,” “Maybe Love,” “Two Gentle Eyes” and “The Moor Will Be Callin’.” (Paul Hodgkins in Orange Country-Register)