John Williams to be honored by BMI with a special award bearing his name
Yesterday Monday, April 9th, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) announced that legendary film composer John Williams will be honored with a special award bearing his name, in recognition of his incomparable status as one of the greatest film and television composers of our time.
The John Williams Award will be presented for the first time at the 34th annual BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards to be held on Wednesday, May 9th, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills (California, USA), in a private black-tie event hosted by BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President Creative- Film, TV & Visual Media Doreen Ringer-Ross.
John Williams was previously honored with The Kirk Award in 1999, which later became the BMI Icon Award, for composing some of the most popular and recognizable scores in cinematic history such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, Schindler’s List, Jaws, etc..
Being 86 years-old, he will now be honored with the unique The John Williams Award, for a career that has spanned more than six decades, scoring over 100 films and receiving many awards including 51 Oscar nominations, 5 Academy Awards, 5 Emmy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards and 24 GRAMMYS, in addition to being the only composer to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.
During the event, composers Laura Karpman, Miriam Cutler and Lolita Ritmanis will receive the BMI Champion Award for their commitment to supporting fellow women media composers through The Alliance of Women Film Composers, which they founded in 2014.
Composer Rick Baitz will also be presented with BMI’s Classic Contribution Award in appreciation of creating and leading BMI’s successful “Composing for the Screen” workshop for the past ten years.
Throughout the evening, composers of the previous year’s top-grossing films, top-rated primetime network television series, and highest-ranking cable and streamed media programs, will also be recognized.
