Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to William Curry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

William, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I started playing the clarinet and viola at the beginning of 6th grade. After two years I had a revelation that I could express my feelings through my playing. The climax of this epiphany was when I had what might be called an out-of-body experience. I was 13 and playing viola in a rehearsal youth orchestra. It was music by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner, the overture to his opera “The Mastersingers of Nuremberg.” I had the distinct feeling I was floating over the orchestra.. If this had happened while I was in. math class or playing baseball my life would have had a totally different direction. A spiritual experience , especially at a young age, is an unforgettable and consequential one.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a music-lover. I love all music that is great. My tastes are eclectic. I am a composer, conductor, author and teacher of music.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was born African American and gay in racist and homophobic America in 1954. Interracial marriage was still illegal in most of America when I was 14. Gay marriage wasn’t legalized until I was 60.. Obviously, a conductor is a public figure. When I arrived in North Carolina in 1996 , the most beloved politician in this state was the Republican Senator was the homophobic and racist Jesse Helms. My resilience against these odds was based on my love of my music and my belief that I was not the product of an inferior race or a ” genetic mistake”

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There were two American orchestras, the Mississippi Symphony and the New Orleans Symphony , that told me directly they would not hire me as Music Director because ” a Black conductor would hurt our fund-raising.”