John Williams News

Kritzerland at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal presents WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN: THE SONGS OF PAUL WILLIAMS on Sunday, July 5, 7PM.

By any standard, John Williams is one of the greatest film composers of all time; his 49 Academy Award nominations are second only to Walt Disney himself.  And Williams and Walt Disney Concert Hall have gone hand in hand since Williams opened the Hall's inaugural gala in 2003 with the world premiere of his concert work 'Soundings.'  

Pacific Symphony launches Summer Festival 2015 with a rollicking, high-energy Fourth of July celebration featuring the ever-popular tunes of Journey, brought to life by the tribute band, Faithfully.

Orange County, Calif.—June 15, 2015—Pacific Symphony launches Summer Festival 2015 with a rollicking, high-energy Fourth of July celebration featuring the ever-popular tunes of Journey, brought to life by the tribute band, Faithfully. With a reputation for being a highly authentic Journey tribute band, Faithfully preserves the hits of one of the most beloved bands in America through performances of songs such as “Don't Stop Believin,'” “Faithfully,” “Any Way you Want It,” “Open Arms” and “Wheel in the Sky.” Remaining one of the most popular rock bands in America to this day, Journey's wide variety of musical genres including rock, jazz fusion, progressive rock, hard rock and pop rock have won them 25 gold and platinum albums and 19 top 40 singles. The Symphony's Independence Day concert (always the most popular of the season!) begins early with picnicking on the grounds and culminates in a brilliant fireworks display set to music performed by the orchestra. The festivities also pay homage to America's war heroes and veterans through a salute to the U.S. armed forces.

Disney•Pixar's 'Inside Out' features an original score that captures the emotional spirit of the story by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino. The soundtrack will be released by Walt Disney Records today, June 16, 2015. Directed by Academy Award winner Pete Docter ('Monsters, Inc.', 'Up') and produced by Jonas Rivera, p.g.a. ('Up'), Disney•Pixar's 'Inside Out' opens in U.S. theaters on June 19, 2015.

A grand, meaningful and operatic evening of music awaits, as Music Director Carl St.Clair leads Pacific Symphony's final concert of his 25th anniversary season, "Fire and Water," a program representing the innovative and defining characteristics of the orchestra. Furthering St.Clair's commitment to new music, the evening includes the world premiere of "Siren Songs" by Laura Karpman, accompanied by video and animation by Tempe Hale, who has used footage from Gregory MacGillivray, Academy-Award nominated cinematographer of films such as "The Living Sea" and "Dolphins." Karpman's piece explores women and the ocean and is based on a set of poems by internationally known poet, Amy Gerstler, who is also a professor at UC Irvine. For the fiery finale, St.Clair leads the orchestra in selections from Wagner's epic "Gotterdammerung," ("Twilight of the Gods"), featuring Metropolitan Opera superstar, Deborah Voigt, who brings her beautiful and powerful voice to Brunnhilde's famous "Immolation Scene." 

Principle Pops Conductor Jack Everly and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society rekindle wonderful movie memories.

The final recording and complete box set of The Nielsen Project - the New York Philharmonic's acclaimed multi-season survey of the six symphonies and three concertos by Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) - will be released today, June 9, 2015, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth.

Disney•Pixar's 'Inside Out' features an original score that captures the emotional spirit of the story by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino.  The soundtrack will be released by Walt Disney Records on June 16, 2015.    Directed by Academy Award winner Pete Docter ('Monsters, Inc.', 'Up') and produced by Jonas Rivera, p.g.a. ('Up'), Disney•Pixar's 'Inside Out' opens in U.S. theaters on June 19, 2015. 

DisneyPixar's 'Inside Out' features an original score that captures the emotional spirit of the story by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino.The soundtrack will be released by Walt Disney Records on June 16, 2015.Directed by Academy Award winner Pete Docter('Monsters, Inc.', 'Up') and produced by Jonas Rivera, p.g.a. ('Up'), DisneyPixar's 'Inside Out' opens in U.S. theaters on June 19, 2015.

?Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) ends its spring season on a high note with the ebullient sound of youthful voices and vibrant young musicians. Future Vibrations, on Sunday, June 14 at 2:00 pm at Carnegie Hall, features renowned conductor Francisco J. Núñez leading the Distinguished Concerts International New York, including members of his Young People's Chorus of New York City, in a program of music for treble voices. Opening the family-friendly afternoon program will be two superb youth orchestras hailing from the west coast: the Central Oregon Youth Orchestra and the Vancouver Pops Symphony. 

Pure Imagination celebrates the songs of Leslie Bricusse, one of the most prolific and well loved film and musical theatre songwriters of our time.

Elevate your senses and your heart rate with a BNY Mellon Grand Classics concert that takes you from high above the quiet world to a pulse-pounding turn on the dance floor this weekend, May 29 and 31 at Heinz Hall.

One of America's most versatile and prolific living composers, Andre Previn, joins Pacific Symphony as the honored guest and focus of the 15th American Composers Festival (ACF). Previn, who has been called one of America's least easily categorized musicians, began his remarkable career as a Hollywood "wunderkind" and a best-selling jazz pianist. Now 86, Previn has received four Academy Awards for his work in film, 10 Grammy Awards for his recordings (plus one more for his Lifetime Achievement), and he is also an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He's held a series of major conducting posts, including the L.A. Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, but now exclusively composes. The concert is led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, whose great admiration for the legend shaped this year's ACF to reveal the scope of Previn's prowess as a composer. 

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly leads the BSO and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society in the final SuperPops program of the season, a tribute to the work of film composer John Williams, considered one of the greatest of all time.

The world's preeminent classical guitar competition, the Parkening International Guitar Competition, has selected 15 standout competitors for its fourth triennial competition. Representing 11 countries, they will vie for the largest prize purse among guitar competitions, competing at Pepperdine University from today, May 28, through Saturday, May 30, 2015, on the University's campus in Malibu, California.

Guest artists Sierra Boggess and Steven Pasquale join The New York Pops and Music Director Steven Reineke to kick off the orchestra's 2015-2016 season on Friday, October 9 at 8:00PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. The program, My Favorite Things: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein, honors the beloved music of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. On Friday, March 11 at 8:00 PM, Jeremy Jordan and Betsy Wolfe are featured with The New York Pops and Maestro Reineke in 42nd on 57th: Broadway Today, an evening of modern musical theater hits.

Orange County, Calif.—May 20, 2015—A grand, meaningful and operatic evening of music awaits, as Music Director Carl St.Clair leads Pacific Symphony's final concert of his 25th anniversary season, “Fire and Water,” a program representing the innovative and defining characteristics of the orchestra. Furthering St.Clair's commitment to new music, the evening includes the world premiere of “Siren Songs” by Laura Karpman, accompanied by video and animation by Tempe Hale, who has used footage from Gregory MacGillivray, Academy-Award nominated cinematographer of films such as “The Living Sea” and “Dolphins.” Karpman's piece explores women and the ocean and is based on a set of poems by internationally known poet, Amy Gerstler, who is also a professor at UC Irvine. For the fiery finale, St.Clair leads the orchestra in selections from Wagner's epic “Götterdämmerung,” (“Twilight of the Gods”), featuring Metropolitan Opera superstar, Deborah Voigt, who brings her beautiful and powerful voice to Brünnhilde's famous “Immolation Scene.” 

One might easily call Susan Winter's Monday night show at Don't Tell Mama, A Woman for All Seasons: Part Two as half its numbers were in the first show by this name she performed during a run starting last September at the Metropolitan Room. Winter is the kind of class act that would've been lauded in nightclubs way back when, as she's a steward of the American Songbook at its most genuine but with a side of jazz influence.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra today announced an addition to its 2015 summer programs. The Music of Led Zeppelin combines the power of a full rock band with the Baltimore Symphony on Saturday, August 1 at 8 p.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.