MUS 22 — John Williams: Composer of Myth, Memory, and Movies
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Tim Greiving
Date(s): Jan 4—Mar 8
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Mondays
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Please Note: No class on January 18 and February 15
Tuition: $495
Refund Deadline: Jan 6
Unit(s): 1
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Winter
Day: Mondays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 4—Mar 8
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $495
Refund Deadline: Jan 6
Instructor(s): Tim Greiving
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Please Note: No class on January 18 and February 15
For more than half a century, the music of John Williams has given voice to adventure, wonder, heroism, and heartbreak, becoming inseparable from films such as Indiana Jones, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and Harry Potter. As Star Wars celebrates its 50th anniversary, this course explores the life and music of the composer whose work transformed film scoring and became part of the cultural memory of generations. Through lectures, film clips, and never-before-heard audio gathered during work on the first biography written with Williams’s participation, we’ll examine his creative process, collaborations with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and other key directors, and the compositional techniques that give his music its distinctive emotional power. Together, we’ll cultivate a “third ear” for how his music shapes narrative, emotion, and memory, revealing how a handful of notes can announce the arrival of Darth Vader, make audiences believe a bicycle can fly, and continue to move us long after the credits roll.