Get to Know Bill Lawing

 

William (Bill) serves as the Executive Director and principal trumpet. He also performs as E-flat soprano cornetist with the North Carolina Brass Band and principal trumpet with the Charlotte Civic Orchestra. His past affiliations include more than 40 years with Carolina Brass and membership in the Western Piedmont Symphony.

 

Bill recently retired as the Estes Millner Professor of Music at Davidson College, where he enjoyed a distinguished career teaching classical and non-classical music, directing the jazz ensemble, and developing the department’s digital music curriculum and recording studio. While he treasures his Davidson years, he’s grateful that retirement allows him to fully pursue his passions.

In addition to performing, Bill teaches for DavidsonLearns, most recently offering courses on Burt Bacharach and Leonard Bernstein, and produces a concert series of traditional Southern Appalachian music—an outgrowth of one of his popular Davidson courses.

 

Beyond music, he volunteers extensively with Charlotte’s refugee community, helping high school students navigate the college admissions process. He and his family founded the Refugee Opportunities Foundation to support college-bound refugees, and he now serves as college counselor at The Nest Academy, an independent school for more than 70 refugee students. Many of his mentees are now in college, with more soon to follow.

 

Bill and his wife, pianist Cynthia Lawing, have three daughters and eight grandchildren, all living near Davidson. When not performing or teaching, he’s often on “grandkid duty,” driving little ones to their many activities.

 

For years, Bill dreamed of helping to create a local orchestra with high artistic aspirations. The Orchestra of the Carolinas is, quite literally, that dream realized. He’s honored to serve as its inaugural Executive Director and looks forward to helping build a strong artistic and financial foundation for its future.