John Williams News

Richmond, Virginia The Richmond Symphony and Guest Artist Anne Akiko Meyers will perform the Virginia debut of contemporary composer Mason Bates' Violin Concerto during the weekend of Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 concerts on March 1st at 8pm and March 2nd at 3pm.

From One Singular Sensation to The Way We Were, composer Marvin Hamlisch left a legacy of hits that have brightened Broadway and the musical catalogue of America forever. And, now, The Philly POPS is proud to present 'Marvin Hamlisch - A Musical Tribute' conducted by Larry Blank, Hamlisch's conductor, and three of his favorite singers ... Donna McKechnie, Jodi Benson and Doug LaBrecque. Taking place on Friday, March 14 (8 p.m.), Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March 16 (3 p.m.) in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center, Blank and the guest artists will not only present wonderful musical memories with the audience, they'll share personal recollections of Marvin Hamlisch as well.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its February 2014 performances and events. Details below!

The audiences in the next Philly POPS concert series will certainly be 'feeling groovy' as music director Michael Krajewski introduces Philadelphians to a concert he helped develop - The Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel. After singing with symphonies throughout the country, AJ Swearingen and Jonathan Beedle, who hail from Bethlehem, PA, will perform such favorites as 'Bridge Over Troubled Water,' 'The Sound of Silence,' 'The Boxer,' 'Mrs. Robinson', 'Feeling Groovy' and 'Scarborough Fair.'

Bravo! Vail has announced its 27th Season, taking place from June 27th to August 2nd, 2014. Internationally acclaimed soloists will join the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. World-renowned chamber musicians join artistic director Anne-Marie McDermott for the Chamber Music Series and Silver Oak & Twomey Series.

Back by popular demand, Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana, will once again treat audiences to an old-fashioned St. Patrick's Day celebration with the award-winning Irish duo, SWITCHBACK, on Sunday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. Coupled with a traditional Irish dinner preceding the performance, the night is sure to have everyone feeling the luck of the Irish this year.

A newly found out knack for writing, a couple of dreams about his drug and alcohol use, and a girl he knew in high school all became the necessary factor to lead author John Williams Smith III into releasing his first published novel. A love story with a twist as he describes it, 'Broken Toys' follows the life of two high school sweethearts as they try to overcome the breakup caused by alcohol and drug abuse and continue their romance so pure.

Abrams also confirmed that BREAKING BAD's Jesse Plemons was in talks for one of the lead roles in the film.

On Friday, February 7 at 7:30 pm the Pinckney Community School Orchestras and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra will celebrate their eighth annual side-by-side concert at Jane Tasch Theater.

Pacific Symphony announces what is perhaps its most significant season to date for the 36-year-old orchestra-the 2014-15 Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation Classical Series and special events, celebrating Music Director Carl St. Clair's 25 years at the helm. Filled with giant stars and giants of the repertoire that have moved listeners for centuries, the season is pure St. Clair-embracing and celebrating all that great music can mean to the human heart.

Maestra Marin Alsop conducts a music appreciation evening for lovers of Dvoraks's 9th Symphony before a packed house.

Actor Chris Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the 86th Academy Awards nominations this morning, Thursday, January 16. Boone Isaacs and Hemsworth unveiled the nominations at a 5:38 a.m. PT live news conference at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world gathered.

In February, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents 11 concerts with programmes and formats that range from the Beethoven and Bronfman starting after work at 6:30pm to the Orchestra Olympics, from Mahler and the visiting Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, to the great romance of Casablanca.

The telecast kicks off at 8 p.m. EST, and BroadwayWorld will be bringing you live-updates of the winners all night!

'This broadcast and webcast event was the perfect way to spread the word about Andres' Inaugural Season to an even broader audience and build upon the momentum generated from our Centennial Season,' said Houston Symphony Executive Director and CEO Mark C. Hanson. 'It symbolizes our commitment to innovation, community partnerships, and becoming more relevant to even more Houstonians. We're grateful to Houston Public Media for collaborating on this important and exciting announcement.'

The Wrap writes that BREAKING BAD's Jesse Plemons is set to return for a second audition for J.J. Abrams' return to the STAR WARS franchise. No word yet on who Plemons would play, though rumors suggest Plemons could play Luke Skywalker's son.

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and Conductor John Morris Russell announce the Pops' 2013-14 season, the third under the direction of Mr. Russell. The season, presented by PNC, celebrates some of the long-admired classics of the Pops while embracing exciting new collaborations. From Broadway to rock, R&B to family concerts, Music Hall will be the home for fans of all musical genres in 2013-14. Highlights of the season include three debuts from stars Michael McDonald, George Takei and Boyz II Men, as well the return of Cincinnati favorites Ann Hampton Callaway and Megan Hilty, who wowed Pops audiences in 2009 and has since nurtured a career from stage to screen as star of the hit NBC TV series Smash.

Darth Vader stalking through the Death Star…Harry Potter and Indiana Jones dodging danger at every turn…E.T. finally going home. Composer John Williams has orchestrated some of Hollywood's most iconic and indelible movie scores and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra celebrates his musical accomplishments with the fourth PNC Pops concert, "The Music of John Williams," on Jan. 23-26, 2014.

Darth Vader stalking through the Death Star...Harry Potter and Indiana Jones dodging danger at every turn...E.T. finally going home. Composer John Williams has orchestrated some of Hollywood's most iconic and indelible movie scores and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra celebrates his musical accomplishments with the fourth PNC Pops concert, 'The Music of John Williams,' on Jan. 23-26, 2014.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), continuing a long-established relationship with the Oregon Bach Festival, welcomes the Festival's new Artistic Director Matthew Halls as guest conductor in his California debut, leading a program that spans the centuries and spotlights LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, Principal Cello Andrew Shulman, Principal Oboe Allan Vogel and Principal Bassoon Kenneth Munday, on Saturday, January 25, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, and Sunday, January 26, 2014, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Halls, "a fresh and forceful talent" whose "music-making is strongly and clearly sculpted" (The Times, London), leads Mozart's Ballet Music from Idomeneo, K. 367, Haydn's Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major, and Beethoven's playful Symphony No. 1 in C major, which was instantly hailed as a masterpiece. Providing a dramatic counterpoint to the program is Aaron Jay Kernis' solemn Musica Celestis, a string-orchestra transcription of one of his string quartets that has been likened to Barber's famous Adagio.