John Towner Williams (1932)
(b New York, 8 Feb 1932) US composer, conductor
and pianist. Studied piano with Bobby van Eps and from 1954 with Rosa Lhévinne at the
Juilliard School. After composition studies with Castelnuovo-Tedesco, he devoted his time
to composing for television and film. His scores include those for Jaws (1975), Close
Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and the Star Wars series (1977-). A
strong vein of concert compositions and appearances conducting leading orchestras have
helped consolidate a distinguished career.