The Golden Williams Duo presents:
Music and Art in Dialogue about Extreme Weather
Creators’ Panel: Friday, June 26th, 2026 at 5pm, Multimodal Roasting
Performance: Sunday, June 28th, 2026 at 4pm, Maple Grove Cemetery’s Brownson Center
The Golden Williams Duo, comprised of violist Gregory K. Williams and cellist Diana Golden, uses music as a mirror to reflect on and dialogue with the world around us, by creating and performing thought-provoking music relevant to our own time. On June 28th at 4pm at Maple Grove Cemetery’s Brownson Center (127-15 Kew Gardens Road in Kew Gardens), the Golden Williams Duo will present new music based on the topic of extreme weather, especially as it relates to the borough of Queens. The works for viola and cello duo have been commissioned and written for the Golden Williams Duo by composers Stephanie Leotsakos, Nick Revel, Sunny Knable, Chandler Carter, William Susman, and Dennis Bathory-Kitsz. The Golden Williams Duo chose composers based on their previous works about extreme weather, as well as Queens-based composers interested in exploring this topic.
At the performance, composers, performers, and audience members will have the chance to learn, engage, and interact with the topic of extreme weather as it relates to our local landscape through both the music and a community art-making workshop led by the Golden Williams Duo and visual teaching artist, Jerri A. Castillo. Seated at tables while the performers are playing and speaking, audiences will be guided by Jerri in using watercolors to create images responding to the music. Free admission and parking, with reception to follow. RSVP here.
These works for viola and cello duo consider historical events such as lives lost to basement flooding in Corona, Woodside, and Jamaica during Hurricane Ida; and shoreline damage in the Rockaways from Hurricane Sandy. With community input from the Southeast Queens Residents Environmental Justice Coalition to contextualize the artistic dialogue, we will hear from residents about their firsthand experiences from recent storms, and review local community plans to counteract these extreme weather events.
A pre-concert Creators’ Panel will take place on June 26th at 5pm at Multimodal Roasting (39-26 24th St in Long Island City). At the Creators’ Panel, the Golden Williams Duo will showcase a behind-the-scenes look at how composers designed their music, and how each of their approaches are different. Audiences will have a chance to hear samples of each of the compositions performed by the Golden Williams Duo. While the Creators’ Panel is intended for the general public, the event is especially relevant for those interested in artists’ working processes and the collaborative give-and-take involved in creating multimedia art, composers, performers, educators, artists, and environmentalists. Admission to the Creators’ Panel is $26.95 on Events.com or $25 cash at the door, and a recording of the Creators’ Panel will be available by request for those who cannot attend for $11. Multimodal coffee will be made available for purchase to attendees during the event.
This project is made possible in part with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.
Gregory K. Williams 