Eric Williamson (he/him) is the Artistic Director of Lavender Light the Black and People of All Colors LGBTQ+ Gospel Choir. This choir is dedicated to continuing the legacy of singing Black Gospel music with a special ministry in supporting Black and Brown queer folx. Mr. Williamson received his B.A. in Music from the Pennsylvania State University and his M.A. in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. As a guest conductor he has led honor and festival choirs across the east coast bringing his magnetic energy and authenticity to choruses. A frequent clinician with Carnegie Hall’s Music Educator Workshop, he has prepared programs for the educators chorus centering music by Black women composers and just performed another program centering living Black composers June 8, 2024. As a former conductor with the Grammy-award winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus he has prepared choruses for performances at Lincoln Center, several recording projects, New York City Opera, and more.
As a National Facilitator for the Human Rights Campaign Welcoming Schools training program, he has led workshops on LGBTQ+ inclusion for schools, school districts, and non-profit organizations. An advocate for equity & belonging in education, he has been featured on NY1, Good Morning America, and published in the March 2023 edition of the Music Educators Journal. He has led workshops centering Anti-racism and Culturally Responsive Teaching for music educators at Carnegie Hall and several universities across the East Coast. He currently works at PS 32 in Brooklyn as the PreK-5 general music teacher, the ADEI Chair for the New York Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and adjunct professor at NYU Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions where he created the course, Black Music Ensemble, a choir that performs music of the African & African-American sacred and secular traditions. Black Music Ensemble (BME). exclusively performs music by Black and Brown composers, is LGBTQIA+ affirming, and gender inclusive of all singers For more information, please visit www.ericwilliamson.org. IG/TikTok: @mrwilliamsonmusicroom