John Williams Leads a Weekend Program of Movie Scores with LA Phil, 8/31 & 9/1

Five-time Academy Award-winner and renowned composer John Williams returns to the Hollywood Bowl stage to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a weekend of his movie music and accompanying film clips in John Williams: Maestro of the Movies, tonight and Saturday, August 31, and September 1, at 8 pm.

Also on the program is renowned violinist Gil Shaham performing music from Schindler’s List and Fiddler on the Roof, as well as the Cal State Fullerton University Singers performing “Call of the Champions,” “Dry Your Tears, Afrika” from Amistad, and “Duel of the Fates” from Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace. This much-anticipated annual event also presents an extended 14-minute film sequence from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, in tribute to the film’s 30th anniversary.

In a career that spans five decades, John Williams has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage. He has served as music director and laureate conductor of one of the country’s treasured musical institutions, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and he maintains thriving artistic relationships with many of the world’s great orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Williams has received a variety of prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honor, the Olympic Order, and numerous Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. He is the Academy’s most-nominated living person with 47 Oscar nominations to date. He remains one of our nation’s most distinguished and contributive musical voices.

Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time. Combining flawless technique with inimitable warmth and a generosity of spirit, he is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors and for recital and ensemble appearances on the great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals. Shaham has more than two dozen concerto and solo CDs to his name, including bestsellers that have appeared on record charts in the U.S. and abroad. These recordings have earned prestigious awards, including multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice.

Under the direction of Robert Istad, Cal State Fullerton’s University Singers have become recognized as a premier collegiate vocal ensemble, performing with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and Andrea Bocelli. The ensemble has toured in Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia, and most recently Eastern Europe. Istad, director of choral studies at California State University, Fullerton, has prepared choruses for Esa–Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, as well as conductors Bramwell Tovey, Eric Whitacre, Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop, George Fenton, John Alexander, William Dehning, John DuPrez, David Lockington, and Mark Manderano. In addition to his role with Cal State Fullerton, Istad is also the Artistic Director of the Long Beach Camerata Singers and Assistant Conductor of the Pacific Chorale.