Composer, Conductor John Williams

In 1958, the silver screen was introduced to who would become the most popular film composer ever, John Williams. Working with great directors, such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Oliver Stone, his music has captured our hearts, music that tells its own story. In 1977, John Williams composed the music for Star Wars, a score that saw the return of symphonic music to the big screen and changed the film music industry forever.

Born February 8, 1932 in New York City, John began his love for music at a very young age. His father worked in New York playing for the CBS orchestra at the same time John was studying piano, and through his father's connections John met people in the music business. At times when the orchestra piano player could not make performances, John was asked to play with them.

In 1948 he moved to Los Angeles with his family where he started studying composition, which lead to his first movie score in 1958 for a film called Daddy O. This was just the beginning. John went on to compose scores which included television movies like Jane Eyre, and shows like Gilligan's Island.

He also composed for more than eighty movies. Some of them included Jaws, Superman, the Star Wars Trilogy (most known), Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan. He also composed the themes for the 1984,'88,'and '96 Olympic Games.

In 1974, Williams paired up for the first time with director Steven Spielberg on a film called, The Sugarland Express. This lead to writing the score for Steven Spielberg's Jaws, and it was Steven Spielberg who introduced John to George Lucas.Since then, John has composed the music for most of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' films.
"Many scores are improvised variations on one theme, but John has integrity, crafted with harmony, melody, many themes, and orchestration" - Spielberg.

Sometimes Steven would write scenes around John's music.

John has also conducted at other occasions other than for the silver screen. In 1980, he became principal condutor to the Boston Pops orchestra, until his retirement in 1993 and has been guest conductor to the Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and London Symphonies.

Of the seventy five films, he received Academy Awards for Fiddler On The Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, ET, and Schindler's List, and received more than 34 nominations, which were just under the Original Score category.

Some of his personal albums include: George Gershwin: America The Dream Goes On, a Spielberg/Williams collaboration, and Unforgettable: A tribute to Frank Sinatra. One of the major factors that makes John the greatest silver screen composer, is the way his music seems to have a strong affect on the movie itself. For example, when I listen to Schindler's List, the dramatic sound of the lonely violin seems to sing out above the rest of the orchestra, as if it were one of the members of the holocost singing to god to spare their life.


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