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Words of Wisdom —

John Williams and Humanity’s Spiritual Drive Toward Music

“There’s a very basic human, nonverbal aspect to our need to make music and use it as part of our human expression. It doesn’t have to do with body movements; it doesn’t have to do with articulation of a language, but with something spiritual.”

John Williams (b. 1932) is an American composer and conductor who is probably responsible for your all-time favorite film score. His films include:

— The Star Wars series
— Jaws
— E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
— The Indiana Jones series 
— Close Encounters of the Third Kind
— Superman
— Home Alone 1 and 2
— Hook
— Jurassic Park and The Lost World
— Schindler’s List
— Saving Private Ryan
— The first three Harry Potter films 
— Catch Me If You Can
— Memoirs of a Geisha
— War Horse
— Lincoln

Williams served as the Boston Pops Orchestra’s principal conductor from 1980 to 1993. He has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards and 22 Grammy Awards. With 49 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney.

Below is Williams’ personal philosophy with regard to music as human expression:

“There’s a very basic human, nonverbal aspect to our need to make music and use it as part of our human expression. It doesn’t have to do with body movements; it doesn’t have to do with articulation of a language, but with something spiritual.”

Below, American Symphony Orchestra conductor Leon Botstein gives a masterclass on the utility of art and music:

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