John Williams & Steven Spielberg to Join Detroit Symphony for Benefit Concert, 6/14

On Saturday, June 14, Oscar-winning composer John Williams and legendary director Steven Spielberg will join the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) for a one-night-only gala benefit concert for the orchestra. Tickets to this special concert appearance will be available starting April 14. Both artists are donating their services for this extraordinary event.

Five-time Academy Award and 21-time Grammy Award winner John Williams returns to the DSO to conduct an unforgettable evening of music from the movies, featuring selections from some of his most popular and iconic scores, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones, Schindler's List and more. Acclaimed director and three-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg joins Williams to host the second half of the evening, presenting selections from their remarkable forty-year artistic collaboration, including selected film clips projected on a giant screen above the orchestra.

"The Detroit Symphony is one of our country's great artistic treasures, and it's always a privilege and a joy to make music with them," stated Williams, who last conducted the DSO in April of 2008.

"On behalf of Leonard Slatkin and the entire DSO family, we want to acknowledge John and Steven's incredible generosity and thank them for their support," said DSO President and CEO Anne Parsons. "We are collectively and individually indebted to them for their ongoing creative contributions and we look forward to celebrating their extraordinary collaboration at this very special evening with the DSO."

Tickets go on sale on April 14 for $30-$250 and will be available at dso.org, or by calling the box office at 313-576-5111.

In a career spanning over six decades, John Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and twenty-one Grammy Awards. In total, Williams has forty-nine Academy Award nominations, making him the second most-nominated person after Walt Disney. He has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in cinematic history, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse, Lincoln, and the first three Harry Potter films. His most recent film was The Book Thief directed by Brian Percival, the score from which was nominated for Golden Globe and Academy Awards. Williams has composed the music for all but one of Steven Spielberg's theatrical feature films.

Steven Spielberg is one of the film industry's most successful and influential filmmakers. He is collectively the top-grossing director of all time, having helmed such blockbusters as Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones franchise, and Jurassic Park, as well as such honored films as Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan and Lincoln.

Among his myriad awards, he is a three-time Academy Award winner, a three-time Directors Guild of America winner, the recipient of the Irving G. Thalberg Award from the Motion Picture Academy, and the Kennedy Center Honor.

Photo Courtesy of Capitol Concerts