John Williams News

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) launched the public phase of the JUST IMAGINE Where Dreams Take Center Stage campaign on Wednesday, October 19th with a kickoff event announcing the lead gift of $4,000,000 from Margaret Alkek Williams to name the Margaret Alkek Williams Center for Arts and Education.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the story of a little, lost alien and the boy who befriends him, was an immediate blockbuster when it was released in 1982.

The year will be sent off with a bang - literally - on November 20when 250 of South Australia's best young musicians come together on stage for Adelaide Youth Orchestras' Gala Concert: Celebrate at the Adelaide Town Hall.

The Michigan Philharmonic performed its annual Phright Night concert last Saturday at the PARC in Plymouth; as always, it was a huge success. The symphony harvested some scary tunes at its beloved Halloween POPS concert.  Maestro Nan Washburn entered the building on her motorized scooter, drawing thunderous applause from patrons. She opened the concert using a large wooden spoon as her conductor's baton, then quickly switched it out with a professional one.  The selections were wonderful, and very much a treat for the ears.

Visit Machiavelli in the Upper West Side of New York City for their seasonal menu and exciting special events.

Hop on the Hogwarts Express! Young Witches, Wizards and Muggles unite as they find themselves transported to the fantastical world of Harry Potter, when Pacific Symphony's Family Musical Mornings series returns just in time for Halloween. Featuring the beloved music of John Williams and more, this concert event is the perfect way to get a jump on Halloween (all are invited to come in costume!).

The Oakland Symphony, Michael Morgan Music Director and conductor, will be joined by guest violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins—currently on Broadway as the Fiddler in Fiddler on the Roof-- and members of its acclaimed Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra for Lost Romantic Symphonies Friday, November 18, at 8 pm at the Paramount Theatre. The concert will feature Hall-Tompkins performing the U.S. premiere of Siegfried Matthus' new violin concerto, Dream of a Summer Night, along with John Williams' Theme from Schindler's List and Fiddler on the Roof. The program also includes Joachim Raff's rarely performedSymphony No. 3, and the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, back from its Cuban Tour, will join the Symphony for Gershwin's Cuban Overture. The concert will be preceded by a talk by John Kendall-Bailey at 7 pm that is free to ticket holders and the entire evening is sponsored by The Grubb Company. Tickets are priced $25-$80 and may be purchased at www.oaklandsymphony.org or by calling 510-444-0802.

Showcasing its three original ensemble members--clarinetist Kathryne Pirtle, violinist Florentina Ramniceanu and pianist Diana Schmuck--The Orion Ensemble, winner of the prestigious Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, presents 'Serenade by Three: Orion Beginnings.' Performances take place at First Baptist Church of GenevaNovember 6; the Music Institute of Chicago's Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston November 13; and the PianoForte Studios in downtown Chicago November 16.

Musica Viva NY-a chamber choir of thirty professionals and highly skilled volunteers dedicated to creating imaginative programs that offer joy, solace, renewal and inspiration in a busy world-presents Heroes and Dragons: J.S. Bach and the Epic Cantata on Sunday, December 4 at 5:00 p.m. at All Souls Church. 

It takes guts to write a parody of 1970s disaster movies. After all, AIRPLANE!, the parody of the AIRPORT series, is one of the most beloved comedies of all time. It also takes guts to write a 1970s jukebox musical. A show you may have heard of called MAMMA MIA! ran for nearly 14 years and 6,000 performances. Nevertheless, into this field of exclamation points flew DISASTER!, a parody of 1970s disaster movies...and a 1970s jukebox musical. The show, co-written by multi-hyphenate Seth Rudetsky (who also plays one of the main roles) and director Jack Plotnick, was perhaps a bit slim for the past Broadway season. Its silliness, specificity, and lack of original songs may have caused it to struggle amid the powerhouse shows surrounding it, and it closed in May after 72 performances. But it did receive some enthusiastic reviews, and in particular acclaim for the breakout performance of Jennifer Simard, who was nominated for a Tony for her performance of a nun with a gambling addiction. (Her big moment in the show, singing 'Never Can Say Goodbye' to a HAWAII FIVE-O-themed slot machine, can be viewed online.) Now Simard will be accompanying the show to London. In the meantime, we have Broadway Records' DISASTER! cast album, which contains 28 (!) songs from the show.

The music may not be the first thought that comes to mind when it comes to the hit 1990 movie, "Home Alone"-the highest-grossing live-action-comedy film of all time in the U.S.-but it will soon! It's not just another "movie night" when Pacific Symphony's Pops brings the exemplary "Hollywood" sound of the orchestra to the hilarious and heart-warming comedy classic starring Macaulay Culkin as 8-year-old troublemaker, Kevin McCallister.

The Folk Music Society of NY presents John Doyle, in concert, Today, Oct. 14th, 2016 8:00PM (doors open 7:30) at St. John's Church, 81 Christopher Street, Manhattan. Contribution: $25; Folk Music Society of NY members, $20; children under 15, full time students $15. Tickets at the door or on line: http://johndoyle.eventbrite.com

For the first time in its history, EVITA, this revolutionary Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical is being produced by Cabrillo Music Theatre. 

On Sunday, November 13, South African guitarist Derek Gripper will perform One Night on Earth, a program of West African kora-inspired music at the Princeton Symphony Orchestra's Fall Musicale fundraiser. The event will take place in one of the newest performance spaces in the area, the historic chapel at The Princeton Abbey.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the concert hall, Film Concerts Live! announces Jaws in Concert, the fourth in their series of blockbuster films by legendary director Steven Spielberg developed especially for presentation in concert venues

On Sunday, November 13, South African guitarist Derek Gripper will perform One Night on Earth, a program of West African kora-inspired music at the Princeton Symphony Orchestra's Fall Musicale fundraiser.

The award-winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company presents two events in time for Halloween: "Poe by Candlelight" on Saturday, October 22 at 8:00p.m. and the Alfred Hitchcock silent thriller "The Lodger" on Sunday, October 23 at 8:00p.m., both at The First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes Street in Cape May, where the theater is in residence.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra announced today that they will perform Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on the 27 & 28th of April as part of the Harry Potter Film Concert Series. The concert will feature the live symphony orchestra performing, to picture, every note from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  Audiences will be able to relive the magic of the film in high-definition on a giant screen while hearing the orchestra perform John Williams' unforgettable score. Tickets go on sale Saturday 15 October at 9am via sydneysymphony.com and (02) 8215 4600.

Itzhak Perlman will return to the New York Philharmonic to conduct and perform Beethoven's Romances Nos. 1 and 2 for Violin and Orchestra, and to conduct Brahms's Symphony No. 4 and Academic Festival Overture, Tuesday, November 15, 2016, at 7:30 p.m.

Swashbucklers and superheroes have reason to celebrate Halloween in style this year with the Utah Symphony's pair of entertainment concerts in the month of October. Tickets start at $12 for "Spooktacular on the Seven Seas!" and $21 for "Superheroes!" and can be purchased at www.utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.