OFA Band Director releases memoir, ‘Where the Valley Widens’

On Friday, Aug. 1, at 5 p.m., Owego Free Academy Band Director Lindsey Williams will be at Riverow Bookshop, located at 187 Front St. in Owego, for a signing of her new memoir, Where the Valley Widens. Her book is being published by Compass Rose Publications.

You can get your copy and talk to the author at the Owego Book Shop on Friday from 5-7 p.m. There will be a few speakers and a question and answer session from 5-5:30 p.m., followed by book signings until 7 p.m. Call Riverow at (607) 687-4094 to reserve your copy ahead of time.

Lindsey has directed bands in the Owego schools since 2007 and has been the high school band director at Owego Free Academy since 2016, taking over for her mentor, Daniel Fabricius. You may have seen her around town with the OFA Parade Band, “MTB,” or various student groups around the holidays.

“After the flood, then the pandemic, and then Mr. Fabricius passing away, I just felt like I needed to write it all down,” said Williams, adding, “I am hoping the book helps teachers, or anyone who is struggling through something, find a way to keep going and discover the things they are looking for in life.”

Lindsey Williams has directed award-winning bands at all levels in the public schools since 2007. She graduated summa cum laude from the Boston Conservatory, earning her BM in flute performance, her MMED, and the Conservatory’s Outstanding Music Educator Award. She has directed Binghamton University’s Wind Symphony and chaired numerous festivals and committees for the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA).

An active performer, conductor, and clinician, Lindsey lives with her family and cats in upstate New York. She loves making music just as much as writing about it, and you can purchase her latest book, Where the Valley Widens, anywhere you buy books.

You can also follow her at lindseywilliamsmusic.com; Instagram: @LindseyWilliamsMusic; and Facebook: facebook.com/LindseyWilliamsMusic/.