Dar Williams Performs in Werner Centennial Center

Acclaimed singer and songwriter Dar Williams visited Westminster April 29 to give a concert in the Werner Centennial Center for a special Monday night edition of the Friday Night Readings series. The student performer was Eliza Christman ’15, a young poet and singer who performed an original song, and the faculty performer was Grant Gritzmacher, a gifted musician who sang three songs he recently wrote.
 

During her performance, Williams talked about what inspired her to write each of the songs she sang. The next morning, she visited English classes and talked about her song-writing process. “You start in one place and then go in a different direction,” she explained. “That is creativity. … I try to put myself in a place where I can be creative, like a museum. I like to walk around visual art. … Lots of time, I will let the space soak in and let my mind wonder and do its thing.”
 

Raised in Chappaqua, N.Y., and educated at Wesleyan University, Williams spent 10 years living in Northampton, Mass., where she made the rounds on the coffeehouse circuit. Joan Baez, an early fan of her music, took Williams out on the road and recorded several of her songs.
 

In 1995, two years after self-releasing “The Honesty Room,” Williams signed with Razor & Tie Entertainment, beginning a relationship now in its 16th year. Along with her studio albums, she’s also released the onstage document “Out There Live” and the DVD “Live at Bearsville Theater.” She currently lives in Cold Spring, N.Y. with her family.
 

Williams was the first singer-songwriter to visit Westminster under the auspices of the Friday Night Readings series. English teacher Michael Cervas, who coordinates the series, said, “Dar was the perfect choice for us. She’s so personable and funny, and her songs are so smart and wide-ranging.”
 

Williams established a great rapport with the students, too, who engaged her in conversations about song writing, her life as a musician and particular songs they had studied. In one class, she took out her guitar and played a song about her family (“After All”). It was a wonderfully intimate moment for the audience and for the performer. In an e-mail to Michael after her visit, Williams said she “had a great time at Westminster and loved the students.”