John Williams (b. 1932) grew up in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to study composition. He returned to the Big Apple to study at the Juilliard School after serving in the Air Force. There he studied piano and worked as a jazz pianist in the city. He then relocated back west to Hollywood where he worked side by side with established film composers. He got his start writing for television and arranging for Henry Mancini, but he stepped into the realm of film in the 1970s.
His first big break came with the score for the John Wayne film The Cowboys in 1972 before he really hit it big with the score to Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws in 1975, the iconic two-note “shark” motif of which remains prevalent in pop culture today.
Tune in to Classical Music Amarillo this week to hear excerpts from the Amarillo Symphony’s all John Williams program, "Star Wars and Beyond" from February 2023. We'll listen in as the Amarillo Symphony performs arrangements of iconic music from blockbuster hits such as E.T., Jurassic Park, Superman, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and of course, Star Wars!
