Americas Composer By Katherine Coons Music 1010 Key

‘America’s Composer” By: Katherine Coons Music 1010

Key Points in John’s Life: • Born on February 8, 1932 in Long Island, New York. • Moved to Los Angeles in 1948 and graduated form North Hollywood High School. • Premiered his first composition, a piano sonata, at the age of nineteen. • Attended UCLA and studied with Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo. Tedesco. John in High School • Drafted into the U. S. Air Force in 1952. Part of his assignment was to conduct and arrange music for The U. S. Air Force Band. • Attended The Julliard School in 1955, and studied with Madame Rosina Lhevinne. • Married Barbara Ruick in 1956. Together they had three children; Jennifer, Mark, and Joseph. • First film composition in 1958 in the B movie Daddy-O. • First screen credit in the movie Because They’re Young in 1960. John at the age of 25

Continued… • 1967 - First Academy Award Nomination for the film score in Valley of the Dolls. • 1971 - First Academy Award received for the film score in Fiddler on the Roof. • 1974 - Steven Spielberg and John Williams worked together for the first time in the film, The Sugarland Express. • 1980 - John was named the nineteenth Conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra. • On June 23, 2000 John became the first inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.

Awards Won: • 5 Academy Awards • 21 Grammys • 5 Golden Globes • 2 Emmys • 6 BAFTA Awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Familiar Works • Harry Potter • Jaws • Indiana Jones • Star Wars • Superman • Jurassic Park

Hedwig’s Theme • This score was composed for the first Harry Potter Movie, “The Sorcerer’s Stone” which was based off of the book by J. K. Rowling. • This theme is the leitmotif for the film series. • (leitmotif- a recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation. ) • Composed in Los Angeles and Tanglewood at William’s homes. • It was recorded in London in August of 2001. • This piece has a run length of 5: 09. • This theme originally was for Harry’s pet snowy owl named Hedwig, but throughout the film the general theme created a sense of mystery and wonder. • Williams went on to score music for the first three films in the series. He then dropped out after the overwhelming responsibility of the first three scores.

The Imperial March • This score is also known as “Darth Vader’s Theme. ” • The piece has a run time of 3: 02. • This theme is also a leitmotif. It appears in many of the sequels that follow. • This score was composed for the sequel, The Emperor Strikes Back. • “The Imperial March” was premiered on April 29, 1980, three weeks before the movie. • Williams played it for the first time at his first concert as official Conductor in Residence of the Boston Pops Orchestra. • The theme normally occurs as Darth Vader appears.

Works Cited • http: //www. imdb. com/name/nm 0002354/bio? ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm • http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/John_williams • http: //www. johnwilliams. org/reference/biography. html • http: //www. dlwaldron. com/John. Williamsbio. html • http: //www. chicagonow. com/hammervision/files/2011/07/jw-oscar. jpg • http: //37. media. tumblr. com/tumblr_lmy 4 ut. AO 5 O 1 qhsz 4 qo 1_400. jpg • http: //ring. cdandlp. com/rareandmintrecords/photo_grande/114042444. jpg • http: //www. amiright. com/album-covers/images/album_John-Williams-Star-Wars-V-The-Empire. Strikes-Back. jpg • http: //www. filmmusicnotes. com/john-williams-themes-part-6 -of-6 -hedwigs-theme-from-harrypotter/ • http: //www. classicfm. com/composers/williams/music/harry-potter/ • http: //img 4. wikia. nocookie. net/__cb 20130612023937/harrypotter/images/6/63/Harry-Potter. Hedwig. jpg • http: //3. bp. blogspot. com/H 9 DJWOUJ 2 fc/UHVodw. Kwj. QI/AAAABi. Y/WIhe. Mz. N 7 r. Io/s 1600/Dark+Vader. jpg • http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Imperial_March