John Williams

• Born: February 8, 1932 in New York, NY

In a career spanning more than six decades, John Williams has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage, and he remains one of our nation’s most distinguished and contributive musical voices. He has composed the music and served as music director for more than 100 films, including all nine Star Wars films, the first three Harry Potter films, Superman, JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, Memoirs of a Geisha, Far and Away, The Accidental Tourist, Home Alone and The Book Thief. His 50-year artistic partnership with director Steven Spielberg has resulted in many of Hollywood’s most acclaimed and successful films, including Schindler’s List, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Indiana Jones films, Munich, Saving Private Ryan, The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse, Lincoln, The BFG, The Post and The Fabelmans. His contributions to television music include scores for more than 200 television films for the groundbreaking, early anthology series Alcoa Theatre, Kraft Television Theatre, Chrysler Theatre and Playhouse 90, as well as themes for NBC Nightly News (“The Mission”), NBC’s Meet the Press, and the PBS arts showcase Great Performances. He also composed themes for the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympic Games and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. He has received five Academy Awards and 53 Oscar nominations, making him the Academy’s most-nominated living person and the second-most nominated person in the history of the Oscars. He has received seven British Academy Awards (BAFTA), 25 Grammys, four Golden Globes, five Emmys and numerous gold and platinum records. In 2003, he received the Olympic Order (the IOC’s highest honor) for his contributions to the Olympic movement. He received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in December of 2004. In 2009, Williams was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and he received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the U.S. Government. In 2016, he received the 44th Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute–the first time in their history that this honor was bestowed upon a composer. In 2020, he received Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts as well as the Gold Medal from the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society in the UK and, in 2022, he was awarded an honorary knighthood of the British Empire as one of the final awards approved by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In January 1980, Williams was named 19th music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra, succeeding the legendary Arthur Fiedler. He currently holds the title of Boston Pops Laureate Conductor, which he assumed following his retirement in December 1993 after 14 highly successful seasons. He also holds the title of Artist-in-Residence at Tanglewood. Williams has composed numerous works for the concert stage, among them two symphonies, and concertos commissioned by several of the world’s leading orchestras, including a cello concerto for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a bassoon concerto for the New York Philharmonic, a trumpet concerto for The Cleveland Orchestra, and a horn concerto for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, the Boston Symphony premiered his concerto for harp and orchestra titled On Willows and Birches, and, in the same year, Williams composed and arranged Air and Simple Gifts especially for the first inaugural ceremony of President Barack Obama.

In 2021, Williams premiered his second violin concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood along with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter, for whom he composed the work.

Star Wars Epic Suite

• Duration: approx. 12 minutes

The Star Wars® movie phenomenon has captured the imaginations of three generations of movie fans worldwide. Beginning in 1977 with the release of Episode IV: A New Hope™, the vision of George Lucas combined with the music of John Williams has resulted in the most successful series of films and the most recognized movie music in history.

Robert W. Smith has drawn upon the imagination of John Williams and George Lucas to create Suite from The Star Wars® Epic—Part I and Part II, which includes music from all six movie episodes. Part I opens with “Duel of the Fates” from Episode I: The Phantom Menace™, and the journey through the galactic empire begins. The hauntingly beautiful “Across the Stars” from Episode 2: Attack of the Clones™ is followed by the theme from Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith™, completing the first part of the listener’s interstellar musical travel.

Part II continues with “Princess Leia’s Theme” from Episode IV: A New Hope™. Episodes V and VI (The Empire Strikes Back™ and Return of the Jedi™) give us the menacing sounds of “The Imperial March” and the lighthearted, yet powerful “Forest Battle.” The suite continues with “Star Wars (Main Title),” drawing the musical epic to a fitting conclusion. Suite from The Star Wars Epic® is dedicated to John Williams, whose life’s work and musical legacy will endure for centuries to come.