John Towner Williams took up the piano at the age of eight, as the United States prepared to enter the Second World War. In 1948, his family settled in Los Angeles, where he studied with pianist and arranger Bobby Van Eps. From 1951 to 1954, he served in the music division of the US Air Force as a conductor and arranger. It was in this setting that he honed his skills as an orchestrator, particularly for brass fanfares. Upon returning to New York, he studied with Rosina Lhévinne at Julliard, as well as performing in jazz clubs and recording studios. He subsequently returned to the West Coast, where he studied privately with Arthur Olaf Andersen and Castelnuovo-Tedesco, among others, while also attending UCLA.

In 1956, Williams gained employment in Hollywood, first as a studio pianist, and two years later as an arranger and composer for television. He composed music for television series until the mid-1960s, as well as working as a pianist, arranger, and conductor for Columbia Records. During this period, he launched his career as a composer for cinema with John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1964) and How to Steal a Million (1966), and wrote his first concert works: (Essay for Strings and Symphony n°1).

In 1974, John Williams composed the score for one of the first films of Steven Spielberg, The Sugarland Express. The two collaborated again the following year on Jaws, which earned Williams an Oscar. Since then, Williams has composed the scores for almost all of Spielberg’s films, including E.T., for which Williams again won an Oscar. Williams’ career in Hollywood took another decisive turn in 1977, following the release of Star Wars by George Lucas. The global success of this film earned Williams wide acclaim, and Lucas and Spielberg went on to collaborate on films such as Indiana Jones and subsequent episodes in the Star Wars saga.

In 1980, Williams succeeded Arthur Fiedler as conductor of the Boston Pops, allowing the composer to perform a number of his own concert works for orchestra. It was also around this time that Williams composed his first fanfares, including Olympic Fanfare and Theme, composed for the 1984 Olympic Games.

The 1990s saw Williams compose the music for films such as Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.

In the early 2000s, Williams once again earned wide acclaim with his scores for the Harry Potter trilogy. At the same time, he continued to compose concert works, incuding several concertos.

In 2009, Williams composed Air and Simple Gifts for the inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama, who bestowed the National Medal of Arts upon him later that year.

Awards, Grants, and Prizes:

• Academy awards (Oscars): 49 nominations and 5 Oscars for the scores of:

-Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
-Jaws (1975)
-Star Wars (1977)
-E.T. (1982)
-Schindler’s List (1993)

• Emmy awards: 6 nominations, 3 awards.
• Golden Globe Awards: 25 nominations, 4 awards.
• Grammy Awards: 63 nominations, 21 awards.
• British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Awards: 7 awards.
• 2004: Kennedy Center Honors.
• 2009: National Medal of Arts.