08/24/2025
🌹 In Loving Memory of Lillette Jenkins-Wisner
“Queen of the Keys”
Five years have passed since our beloved mother, Lillette Jenkins-Wisner, took her final bow on August 25, 2020, at the age of 96. To the world, she was a celebrated concert pianist, lovingly nicknamed the “Queen of the Keys” by her dear friend Duke Ellington. To us, she was the heartbeat of our family—our teacher, our inspiration, our guiding light.
Her hands touched the piano with brilliance, but it was her heart that touched humanity. She believed that music was more than sound—it was healing, it was hope, it was a gift meant to be shared. That belief carried her beyond the stage, leading her to establish Lillette’s Foundation for the Arts 501c3 in 2004, so that others might find light through music and the performing arts.
As her daughters, Adrienne Lillette Harris and Michele Harris-Carter, we carry her torch with reverence and love. Through the Foundation, we continue her humanitarian work, shining a light on causes that mattered deeply to her: the foundation started with music-and arts programs, but has included the causes of mental health, homelessness, and survivors of traumatic brain injury within the entertainment community. In every effort, we hear her voice reminding us, “Use your gifts to lift others.”
Though she no longer walks beside us, her music still fills the air, her wisdom still steadies us, and her love lives on in every life touched by her generosity. We miss her every day, but we are grateful to be her daughters—and to continue a legacy that will never fade.
With eternal love,
Adrienne & Michele
Don’t miss Lillette Foundation and Harris & Harris production of “Killing Me Softly” (With Her Song) tribute to the late great pianist and vocalist Roberta Flack. The show features Grammy Award winning musician, and our musical director Jeanine McAdams. Surprise guest vocalists along with song stylist MZ Chele will join her. We’ll be in Florida to meet and greet our friends, family, and supporters at The Palladium Theatre Cabaret Room on September 28th. Tickets are available at the box office.