Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra bringing music of John Williams to Conner Prairie
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is bringing the sounds of some of Hollywood’s biggest and most beloved films to Conner Prairie this weekend as part of its “Symphony on the Prairie” concert series.
The ISO will perform selections from legendary film music composer John Williams during “John Williams Blockbusters” on Friday and Saturday nights.
Over the course of his seven-decade career, Williams has composed some of the most popular and recognizable scores in movie history. His work includes music for the “Star Wars” saga, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” and the “Indiana Jones” series.
Williams also composed two of the best-known TV themes of all time: “Olympic Fanfare and Theme,” the music that has accompanied every Olympics broadcast since the 1984 Summer Games, and the theme for “NBC Sunday Night Football.”
Conrad Jones, who plays principal trumpet with ISO, says John Williams “writes a lot of cool trumpet solos,” but also has a way of writing music that resonates with audiences.
“Williams, maybe more than maybe any other composer, has a way of writing music that’s in the sweet spot of the orchestra where everybody’s instrument…sits in the most balanced and beautiful way,” Jones said. “When everybody comes together with parts like that, it’s got that sort of…magical kind of sound, which I think makes all of his movie scores so attractive to us as audience members and also musicians.”
Tickets for both performances are still available on the ISO website.