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A Capitol Fourth' 2003 honors John Williams
· June 30, 2003 at 2:29 PM

Composer John Williams will be honored July 4 during PBS' A Capitol Fourth
broadcast. A rousing favorite of Washington residents and national
television audiences alike, the program will deliver a special tribute to
the legendary musician - who has transformed the landscape of Hollywood
films with beloved musical scores for such classics as Star Wars, Jaws,
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and
Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The event airs live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Friday,
July 4, 2003, from 8 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings).

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http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories2003/national/20030702013134.shtml

Prolific composer John Williams honored as part of celebration





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Gannett News Service
July 2, 2003


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As they wait for their July Fourth fireworks, people expect music that's big
and booming. They expect some John Philip Sousa, some Peter Tchaikovsky, and
some John Williams.

This year they'll get a lot of Williams, especially in Washington, D.C. "A
Capitol Fourth" will include a tribute to the composer.

"I think it will be great fun," says Williams, 71.

Viewers are accustomed to seeing Williams conduct his own music. This time,
however, he'll sit back and watch Erich Kunzel lead the National Symphony
Orchestra.

Williams' music fills many outdoor occasions. On Independence Day, the
Nashville Symphony Orchestra performs his "Summon the Heroes."

Other groups like to play music from the many films he has scored. There's a
lot of it from "Star Wars" to "Superman" to 20 Steven Spielberg films.

"I was very lucky to meet him when he was very young," Williams says of
Spielberg, 55. "We hit it off as people, which is not hard, because he's a
marvelous man."



Williams' first Academy Award came for adapting stage music for the 1971
film "Fiddler on the Roof." However, it was while working with George Lucas
and "Star Wars" that his career soared. From Spielberg's ominous "Jaws"
(1975) to the heroic "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) and the solemn
"Schindler's List" (1993), Williams has captured the tone of Spielberg's
films.

With one exception -- "The Color Purple" -- Williams has scored every
Spielberg film. He has scored more than 90 movies. Williams has 42 Oscar
nominations and five wins; he also has 17 Grammys and four Emmys.

Independence Day on television


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