The ‘Wonder of John Williams’ at MSO’s Pops concert
An entire evening celebrates the legendary master of movie music
Jackson, Mississippi — Film score composer John Williams has practically created the soundtrack of Americans’ movie-going lives, and Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s February 22 Pops concert offers an evening’s indulgence of some of the greatest hits of his long-running movie music career. The concert is at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, February 22, at Christ United Church Jackson.
From sci-fi and fantasy favorites to haunting historical dramas and epic romances, Williams’ music has swept along America’s cinematic experiences on ceaseless currents of memorable themes and touchstones. The five-time Oscar winner (and 54-time nominee) has dominated the genre for decades, with compositions so expressive and rich they also entertain solo – no movie accompaniment required.
“In our lifetime John Williams has created, for the next 100 years, a new body of repertoire for the orchestra,” MSO Maestro Crafton Beck said. “He is the composer who made us all think of the Hollywood composer as a person worthy of serious consideration in the great canon.”
Even with a generation of film composers that preceded Williams, including the likes of Erich Korngold and Max Steiner, “I don’t know that people would be looking back at those legacies and taking them seriously as composers, if it weren’t for John Williams and what he as done in the modern world of Hollywood,” Beck said.
“Taking the orchestra as his medium, he brought all of us into the symphonic world.… Korngold would have never been invited to perform an entire concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, but John Williams did that a couple of years ago, famously,” Beck said. “That’s an amazing legacy.”
MSO will perform selections from Jaws, Harry Potter, Far and Away, E.T., Jurassic Park, Superman, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Saving Private Ryan highlighting the impressive range and depth of Williams’ music, as well as its indelible stamp on American pop culture. The concert also includes his hauntingly yearning Main Theme from Schindler’s List and Reunion from Jane Eyre.
“We all have ownership of this music,” Beck shared. The ties to blockbuster excitement and deeply emotional experiences are what embed these works in our lives and memories. “We helped make them famous,” he continued. “Introducing children and grandchildren to these works further cements Williams’ legacy, as does the opportunity to hear them live, without visual distraction.
“When we present an evening of John Williams, this music needs to stand on its own,” Beck said. “It’s astonishing when you hear it. It has so much more power when it’s presented live and in your face, and you can feel the vibrations on your skin, as a live orchestra performs it.” And that, Beck added, makes it even better than you remember.
The family-friendly concert offers an opportunity for cosplay, too, if audience members want to dress up as favorite characters from such movies as Star Wars, Superman, E.T., Harry Potter, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Season ticket holders with Conductor, Connoisseur, and Loge reservations will enjoy reserved seating at the venue in Jackson. Please see the box office or an usher for assistance upon arrival. All other seats are general admission and are first-come, first-seated.
Individual tickets for the “Wonder of John Williams” concert are $43 for adults and $5 for students, kindergarten through college (with valid student ID). For tickets or more information visit msorchestra.com, email patronservices@msorchestra.com, or call 601-414-6005. The onsite box office will open at 6:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert.
MSO’s Pops Series is generously supported by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, and this concert is sponsored by the Meyer & Genevieve Falk Endowment Fund for Culture and Arts, a fund of the Community Foundation for Mississippi. MSO is supported in part by the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Who: Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
What: “Wonder of John Williams,” MSO Pops Series concert
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, February 22, 2025
Where: Christ United Church Jackson, 6000 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS 39211