Scholarship Judges

Peter J. Williams

Peter J. Williams received his Bachelor of Music from Barrington College and completed his graduate studies in conducting and composition at Vandercook College in Chicago, where he studied and performed under Chicago Symphony organist Thomas Weisflog and acclaimed composer-conductor John Rutter.

Highly regarded as a pianist and conductor, Peter Williams released his first solo album for piano, “Silent Night, Holy Night,” in 1995. The recording has since become a much requested Christmas time favorite on Boston's WGBH and WCRB radio stations. The recording, “Just me, Just Piano,” features Williams’s own compositions and selected hymns of faith. His most recent release, “In The Bleak Mid-Winter,” is a collection of William’s solo piano arrangments of Christmas favorites.

Williams has also hosted the weekly radio show, “The New Musicians Forum,” on WARA and WJIB stations in Cambridge, MA. He has received his first major motion picture credit for arranging and directing the sound track for MGM Studio’s “Oleanna” by American playwright David Mamet.

Currently, Mr. Williams is head of the vocal department for the North Stonington, CT. Public School System. He is also the Founding Director of the Williams Chorale.

Visit Peter Williams's web site at http://www.peterjwilliams.com.

To contact Peter J. Williams, write to:

Peter J. Williams
1 Wicopee Ave.
So. Attleboro, MA 02703
e-mail:

Stephen J. Fallon

Stephen J. Fallon, co-founder of The Williams Chorale, is an energetic man of action who saw a need for such a choral organization as The Williams Chorale for the Attleboro, MA. area and took action. He, along with his good friend Peter J. Williams, organized the initial meeting and the Chorale was born.

Stephen has had a long background in voice. He began studying voice in 1969 and was a member of the Capitol Hill Choral Society of Albany, NY., under the direction of William Rand, from 1970 to 1973. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy's National Music Camp in 1971 and went on to concentrate in vocal performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Andrew Friarson from 1973 to 1975.

He performed with the Fine Arts Chorale of South Weymouth, MA., under the direction of Peter Edwards, from 1987 to 1993.

Stephen is a featured soloist with The Williams Chorale and remains one of the Chorale’s most enthusiastic supporters and promoters. Stephen has released a CD entitled “Songs of Love”.

Stephen co-hosts “The New Musicians’ Forum“ with Peter J. Williams. The show is broadcast Saturday evenings, from 5-6 PM., on WJIB Boston, 740 AM.

Michael G. Noonan

Michael G. Noonan holds a B.S. and M.S. in Music Education from Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT. He received a Certificate of Study in 1985 from the Royal School of Church Music in Croydon, England after completing a summer study in church music. M. Noonan has taught vocal and instrumental music since 1985 in Stonington, CT, Lyme-Old Lyme, CT and Preston, CT public schools. He also owned and operated MGN Music Studio in North Stonington, CT, teaching piano until 1998. He is currently teaching instrumental music in North Stonington Public Schools where he has been Director of Bands for the elementary, middle and high schools since 1999.

Mr. Noonan was a percussionist with the Noank-Mystic (CT) Community Band and various regional ensembles for many years. Since1987, he has been the Director of Music and Organist at the North Stonington Congregational Church (UCC), where he directs the Senior, Youth/Junior and Handbell Choirs. Mr. Noonan accompanies various church music festivals in southeastern Connecticut and has sung with various choral groups, participating on multiple CD recordings.

He has been an adjudicator for the Williams Chorale Bacardi Fallon Scholarship Competition since its inception in 2002 and has been the accompanist for the Williams Chorale since 2003.

Mr. Noonan’s professional affiliations include the Music Educators National Conference, Connecticut Music Educators Association, The American Guild of Organists and American Guild of English Handbell Ringers. He resides in North Stonington, CT with his wife and two children.

Earl Raney

Earl Raney is founder and director of the award winning Epic Brass Quintet. Since founding the Epic Brass in 1983 he has given over 1400 performances in 46 states, with appearances at the Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall, and Carnegie Hall to name a few. Internationally, Mr. Raney has performed in Canada, Bermuda, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, England, Scotland, France, Austria, Germany, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, and the Far East.

In addition to his chamber music career, Mr. Raney has performed in several New England area orchestras and as principal trumpet of the Taipei Festival Orchestra in Taipei, Taiwan.

Balancing a dual career as trumpeter and conductor, he is conductor of the Great Woods Chamber Orchestra, Southeastern Massachusetts Wind Symphony, and the Atlantic Wind Symphony. Mr. Raney has also conducted the SMARTS Summer Winds Symphonic Band at the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts. He is an adjunct Professor of Music at Atlantic Union College, and Director of the Thayer Performing Arts Center in South Lancaster, Massachusetts.