J. Jerome Williams

J. Jerome Williams is an American choral composer, conductor, and music educator born in 1938 and raised in Morganton, North Carolina. MorningStar Music Publishers records that he studied at Mars Hill College, East Carolina, and Appalachian State University, earning degrees from Mars Hill and Appalachian State. His early career included service as band and choral director at Hildebran High School and as Cultural Arts Coordinator for Burke County Public Schools before he returned to classroom choral teaching at East Burke High School.

Williams spent thirty-two years in the Burke County school system and retired in 1994. He was selected as North Carolina Teacher of the Year in 1982 and later received major recognition for service to choral music in the state. After retirement he continued working with singers, teachers, and choral festivals. He also served as a church musician in several congregations, including a long tenure directing the Chancel Choir at First United Methodist Church in Hickory, North Carolina.

Williams has published more than twenty-five compositions, and A Parting Blessing is repeatedly identified as his best-known work. Shawnee Press publishes the piece for unaccompanied choir, and current catalog records continue to list both SATB and TTBB editions.