The Charles Williams Scholarships

The Charles Williams Scholarships for Excellence in Music and Visual Arts are awarded on an annual basis by the Trustees of The Concord Free Public Library Corporation.  Each year, The Williams Scholarships Committee will select one Williams Scholar for Excellence in Music and one Williams Scholar for Excellence in the Visual Arts.  The amount of each scholarship award for music and for visual arts typically ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 per year per recipient.  In addition, one or more students may receive an Honorable Mention designation.  Students with an Honorable Mention designation will receive a scholarship award in an amount to be determined by the Trustees with input from The Williams Scholarships Committee.

Williams Scholars and Honorable Mention designees are selected in the sole discretion of the Trustees in consultation with The Williams Scholarships Committee, a committee of specialists in music and the visual arts who have been appointed by the Trustees to direct the selection process and to advise with regard to the management of the scholarship program.  Short biographies of current Committee members have been provided on this site. 

All scholarship awards will be paid directly by the Concord Free Public Library Corporation to the educational institution where a selected student will matriculate.

A Trusts and Estates attorney by training, Cristina Coletta Blau was a Trustee of The Concord Free Public Library from 2016 - 2023, and also served as a member of The Concord Library Committee from 2008 - 2012. Cristina also served as the Trustee Chair of The Charles Williams Scholarship Committee from 2018 - 2024. A graduate of Harvard College and Georgetown University Law School, Cristina holds an L.L.M. in Taxation from Boston University and practiced for several years at two downtown Boston law firms. Cristina is a longtime member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association and is extremely active in university affairs. 

Cristina’s love of the arts began as an undergraduate when she served as the Arts Editor of The Harvard Crimson, the college’s daily newspaper. She continues to advise on media projects and has served as a creative consultant for documentary film. Cristina is a lifelong champion of classical music and a three decade-long attendee of Thursday evening Boston Symphony Orchestra subscription concerts.  She is also the parent of a student musician (trombone) and has been an active member of the parent support communities at The Fenn School and Concord-Carlisle High School. 

A Trusts and Estates attorney by training, Laurence Constable joined the Board of Trustees of The Concord Free Public Library Corp. in 2024. It is in that capacity that he serves as the Trustee Chair of The Charles Williams Scholarship Committee. Laurence graduated from the University of Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in 1995, he later earned a Masters of Fine Arts with a focus on creative writing from Emerson College (2000) and Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School (2007). Laurence practiced Public Finance and Trusts & Estates law at two different firms in Boston before leaving the practice of law to focus on advising and investing in technology startups.

Previously, Laurence served on the Concord Cultural Council, which provides micro-grants to local cultural and arts programs. Additionally, Laurence is an advisor to ThinkGive, Inc., a Concord-based not-for-profit that facilitates social and emotional learning in elementary and middle schools around the country. From 2018-2023, Laurence served on the Board of Trustees of the Concord Conservatory of Music, a community music school that brings music and education to students of all ages.

Kate James has an undergraduate degree in Art History and a masters in Social Work. Kate loves her job working as the Executive Director at Concord Art.  Kate’s  first job out of college was at the Frumkin Gallery, a contemporary realist art gallery in New York.  From there, she directed several different galleries in New York and Boston.  Kate currently serve on the Board of Directors, Curatorial Committee and Education and Programming Committee at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Kate lives in Concord with her husband, Ben James, and her two sons, Will and Ted.

Jerry Wedge has been the Executive Director of The Umbrella Arts Center since January of 2012.  Over the past twelve years, he has overseen the growth of the organization into a regional arts center. The completion of a $25,000,000 renovation and expansion allowed for state-of-the-art studio and support space for over 50 artists, the transition to a professional theater company in a 350-seat main stage theater and a 100-seat black box theater, and a sought-after education program, including a renowned ceramics program and a sought-after summer camp and vacation week program for kids.

Prior to joining The Umbrella, Jerry had a long and fulfilling career as an architect. He received a degree in Architecture from Syracuse University in the early 80’s, and practiced until 2012, working on projects primarily for public and non profit institutions. After starting his own practice in 1999, he began a second career in volunteering where he served thre terms on the Concord Public School Committee and Concord-Carlisle Regional School Committee, and before that, ten years on the Concord Children’s Center Board. It was these experiences where he developed a love for the mission driven organization. 

Jerry has spent the past 40 years integrating principles of creativity and practicality; understanding that successful projects need vision to entice engagement and pragmatism to make them real.