John Williams
Composer Project
Early Years
Early Years and Musical Studies
John Towner Williams, generally known as John Williams, was born in New York, on February 8, 1932. His father was a musician, and Williams started taking piano lessons at a young age. With his family, Williams moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1948. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles for a short time before being drafted into the U.S. Air Force in 1951.
After three years of military service, Williams returned to New York City, where he worked as a jazz pianist. He also attended the Juilliard School, studying with famed teacher Rosina Lhevinne in pursuit of his dream of becoming a concert pianist.
Work Life
Williams’ scores for such films as Jaws, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler's List, as well as the Indiana Jones series. These film scores have won him multiple awards and produced best-selling recordings, and his scores for the original Star Wars trilogy transformed the landscape of Hollywood film music and became icons of American culture.
Williams has composed the music and served as music director for nearly eighty films, including Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Seven Years in Tibet, The Lost World, Rosewood, Sleepers, Nixon, Sabrina, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Far and Away, JFK, Hook, Presumed Innocent, Always, Born on the Fourth of July, the Indiana Jones trilogy, The Accidental Tourist, Empire of the Sun, The Witches of Eastwick, the Star Wars trilogy, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Empire Strikes Back, Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws and Goodbye Mr. Chips.
INTERESTING FACTS
Sources
"The John Williams Web Pages: Biography." The John Williams Web Pages: Biography. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.