John Williams

Unquestionably one of the major film composers of our time, and a talented conductor for the prestigious Boston Pops as well. Although he's written dozens of blockbuster film scores, his closest association is probably with Steven Spielberg. Williams has written the music to nearly all of Spielberg's films, composing and conducting his scores to sync with the action down to the millisecond. Williams has mastered many aspects of classical composition, from the Stravinsky-like scurrying of the Jawas in Star Wars to Wagnerian attachment of themes to specific events and characters. Who can forget the dread evoked by the two note motive from Jaws, or Darth Vader's theme music? A multiple Academy Award winner, Williams has been nominated for the top prize over forty times so far -- and he has proven his ability to enhance the emotion of a scene with broad or subtle orchestral sweeps.