Otis Williams To Be Honored By Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles
From UMusic.com-
Dr. Otis Williams of the Temptations will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles [ICYOLA] on Sunday, July 9. The presentation will take place at ICYOLA’s 15th Annual Season Finale Concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Dr. Williams, who continues to tour with the modern-day line-up of the soul titans and five-time Grammy winners, commented: “It’s a great honor to be the recipient of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles’ prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. I’m 81 and Los Angeles is now my home. To see young people from Los Angeles’ inner city, with that same excitement about making music that The Temptations had when we were their age, brings back great memories from the early days of our career.
Music transformed my life,” he went on, “and I can only imagine all the wonderful possibilities that lay ahead for this world class orchestra. I was born in rural Texarkana, Texas and grew up in the inner city of Detroit. Berry Gordy and Motown gave the Temptations and many young artists from Detroit’s inner city a chance to make their dreams a reality. That opportunity launched our iconic career.
“Now 60+ years later, I still love singing on stage and making music. I can personally relate to the life-changing opportunities that Charles Dickerson and ICYOLA are giving the orchestra’s youth. I applaud him and the entire organization for their extraordinary work and sincerely thank them for their special tribute to the Temptations. I’m profoundly proud to receive this distinguished award and to be a part of ICYOLA’s historic family.” ICYOLA’s Orchestra Program features an annual season of between eight and ten concerts including both the standard orchestral repertoire and contemporary music, and concludes each year with a season finale at Walt Disney Concert Hall. ICYOLA has approximately 125 members aged 10 and above, offering intense after-school and summer break programs to young people in Los Angeles’ inner-city communities.
The presentation will take place at ICYOLA 15th Annual Season finale Concert on July 9th.
