John Williams February 8, Present By: Carley Longhurst

Childhood John Williams was born February 8 th, He was born in Queens, New York. John started studying and learning to play the piano at age 7. He learned to play the trombone, trumpet, and clarinet as well as the piano.

Family John was the oldest of 3 children, His dad was a jazz drummer and was one of the original members of the Raymond Scott Quintet. John and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was 16 years old. Music was very important in this family and had a huge impact on each member.

John Williams in High School

Education John Williams graduated high school at North Hollywood High School where he played and composed for the school band. He then went to UCLA and took courses in piano and composition. He also studied privately with Bobby Van Eps, the pianist-arranger. John finished his schooling with a year at Julliard School of Music as a Piano student.

Air Force Was drafted in 1952 at 20 years old. Assigned to the United States Air Force. As part of John’s tour of duty, he conducted and arranged music for service bands. Only spending 2 years in the air force, he was discharged in 1954.

John Williams at age 25

Starting Out While studying at Julliard, John worked by playing at numerous nightclubs as a jazz pianist. Later on, he became an accompanist and conductor for the singer Vic Damone. John also played for composer Alfred Newman at Twentieth Century Fox. He was a pianist with Morris Stoloff’s Columbia Pictures staff orchestra in Hollywood at the same time playing for Damone and Newman.

Career Soon lots of people started to recognize him. He continued with his serious music in Hollywood with Arthur Olaf Anderson and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. John’s career then started to pick up a lot. John Williams first big break was his first screen credit for Because They’re Young. He was very versatile and wrote music for jazz combos, dance bands, and symphony ensembles.

John Williams conducting.

Career Cont. John started to write and compose music for many films and became a well-known nominee for the Academy Awards. In the late 1950’s, Williams became involved with television. He composed, played, and conducted for many television shows.

Career Cont. John then made his mark composing serious music. He conducted and composed many symphonies. John became the 19 th conductor of the Pops symphony. On April 20, 1980, John Williams made his debut at the Boston Symphony Hall.

Steven Spielberg said, “John became more than just a composer for hire, he was a creative collaborator in all phases of post production, spending every day for fifteen weeks in the mixing studio and editing rooms.”

The Present John Williams has now cut back on the number of films and television shows he would compose for. He composes more concert music and conducts his music with orchestras. John now conducts a lot with the New York Philharmonic.

Movies There have been lots of movies he has composed music in, including: –Because They’re Young –I Passed for White –Not with My Wife You Don’t –Superman –The Fury –Tom Sawyer –Star Wars –And so many more!

Television He also composed music for television shows including: –Heidi –Jane Eyre –Time Tunnel –Gilligan’s Island –Lost in Space –And tons more as well!

Accomplishments The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented John Williams his first Oscar in April 1972 for the musical, Fiddler on the Roof. His second Academy Award was in March 1976 for the music he composed in the movie Jaws. Star Wars also brought him many, many more nominees with some awards throughout the years. John was also nominated for a few Emmy awards for some of the television shows he did.

John Williams once told a reporter of the Chicago Tribune, “My sold motive is musical – to keep the continuity of the great orchestra having a great tradition, and vitalize it as much as I can. I would frankly do it for nothing. “

Influence John Williams influenced many composers and just people in general throughout his life. His music is not only enjoyed but changed the way audience experiences films now days. He was influenced by lots of people himself, but the main person that influenced him was his father.

Bibliography x1aGV2bICFeaDQgodKnIABw w=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=NaAaWKw3XU7fgM:&imgrefurl= docid=Cv4Tx7P3u-wQIM&imgurl= ak.last.fm/serve/_/ /John%252BWilliams%252BPNG.png& w=489&h=386&ei=oEpqUNbVFOiaiQKt6IGIBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&v px=1072&vpy=281&dur=395&hovh=199&hovw=253&tx=210&ty=11 9&sig= &page=2&tbnh=137&tbnw=169&st art=24&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:20,s:24,i:281 Current Biography 1980 Pages