Joan Franks Williams

Joan Franks WILLIAMS Born in Brooklyn, NY on April 1, 1930. Died, January 30, 2003 in Seattle, from complications arising from Parkinson's disease. Joan devoted her life to two things; her family and promoting and composing the contemporary music she loved. Joan earned a bachelor's in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, and Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.In 1962, Joan moved to Seattle with her family, where she founded New Dimensions in Music (NDM), a non-profit organization that was one of the early and most influential promoters of new music in the Pacific Northwest. As a part of NDM she also established the first electronic music studio in Seattle. In 1971 she moved to Israel where she presented live concerts of new music for radio broadcast by the Israel Broadcasting Authority. She was also responsible for all contemporary chamber music radio broadcasts. Joan also continued NDM in Israel, presenting over 150 works by 100 composers from all over the world. Joan received numerous awards from European and Israeli organizations. She represented Israel at the ISCM World Music Days in Europe four times, and served on ISCM's international jury. I n 1988 she returned to Seattle, where she continued to be a loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She is survived by her husband, Irving; son, David (Vickie); grandchildren, Amalia, and Zachary; sister, Marjorie (Toby) Kronengold; and father, Harold Franks. Services have been held. The family requests that donations in Joan's memory be made to the National Parkinson Foundation or Cornish College of the Arts.