The World of John Williams by the Mystery Ensemble

The Mystery Ensemble are bringing The World of John Williams to St. Peter's Church on Saturday 8 August, a concert dedicated to the film scores of John Williams. The ensemble is a group of professional musicians known for taking unique programmes into non-standard venues across the UK, and this one focuses on some of the most recognisable music from the cinema.

The set pulls from Williams' biggest soundtracks: Harry Potter, Home Alone, Star Wars, Schindler's List, Indiana Jones, Superman and Jurassic Park. All of it is performed in the composer's own arrangements, so it's the music as he wrote it rather than a reimagined version. It's a broad sweep of his work, from the sweeping orchestral themes of Star Wars and Superman to the more intimate Schindler's List.

For context, Williams has been working for more than 70 years. He's won 25 Grammys, 5 Oscars and 4 Golden Globes, with 53 Academy Award nominations — second only to Walt Disney. Much of that came from his long-term collaborations with directors like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Alfred Hitchcock, Oliver Stone and Chris Columbus. Beyond the cinema, he composed for the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics, and was appointed an Honorary Knight of the United Kingdom in autumn 2023.

The concert runs from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at St. Peter's Church, so it's an hour of his most famous work in one go. If you've spent years humming these themes without ever hearing them played live, this is a good place to start.