JOHN WILLIAMS
In a career spanning more than five 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 45-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 , and The Post . 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 . He has received five Academy Awards and 52 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 44 th 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 U . K .
In January 1980 , Williams was named 19 th 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 entitled “ 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 .
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