John T. Williams is both composer and conductor. Born in New York, he was educated at University College, Los Angeles and the Juilliard School of Music in New York. On graduating he went back to Los Angeles, and began his career in the film studios. His serious compositions include two symphonies, and a major series of concertos - for violin, cello, flute, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet and tuba. From 1980 to 1993 he was principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and was appointed Laureate Conductor following his retirement in 1993. But he is best known for his music scores for over 75 films! In this field his output is simply amazing. He came to fame with blockbusters such as Towering Inferno, Jaws, the Star Wars trilogy, the Indiana Jones films, ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, and Superman. More recent scores include the Home Alone films, Schindler's List, The Lost World (last summer's sequel to Jurassic Park), and most recently Seven Years in Tibet. Along the way he has collected 5 Oscars, 2 Emmy Awards, one British Academy Award, 16 Grammies, and 14 honorary degrees from American universities!