On June 11 at 6 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, three musicians with ties to the School of Music will be featured in the “Through the Doors: Courage. Change. Progress” program that marks 50 years of progress at The University of Alabama. The event marks the anniversary of Gov. George Wallace’s “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” in 1963 and is one of many events being held throughout the year at UA.

“It’s an important event for the University and one in which we are proud to be involved,” says Skip Snead, director of the School of Music.

Joshua Williams, a UA senior and horn performance major, will perform the “Nocturne for Horn and Piano” by Franz Strauss, accompanied by Dr. Noel Engebretson, a faculty member in the School of Music, on piano. Williams is a Tuscaloosa native and graduate of Hillcrest High School and was a first-place winner in the International Horn Society’s Regional Solo Workshop in March. He plays the French horn in five different ensembles for the School of Music.

Dr. Everett McCorvey, an alumnus of the College’s School of Music and professor of voice at the University of Kentucky, will also perform at the event. McCorvey, a native of Montgomery, received three degrees from The University of Alabama and has gone on to receive international acclaim as a tenor soloist with performances at such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center, Radio City Music Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera. He currently holds the Lexington Opera Society Endowed Chair in Opera Studies at the University of Kentucky. McCorvey will perform five songs, mostly traditional pieces associated with the civil rights era, including “Hold On” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Snead expressed pride in the School of Music’s ability to participate and help celebrate progress and change through music. “Music is a universal language, connecting all people and generations,” he said. “These performances will be inspirational and will speak to the broad diversity of experience we have here at UA.”

In addition to musical performances headlined by the School of Music, the event will feature speakers that represent the student, faculty, and alumni populations at UA. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a reception and will end at 7 p.m. with closing remarks by President Judy Bonner.

For more information on the yearlong series of events, visit: www.throughthedoors.ua.edu.