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A NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER
Steven Spielberg’s lm
E.T. e Extra-Terrestrial
always held a special place in my heart, and I
personally think it’s his masterpiece. In looking
at it today, it’s as fresh and new as when it was
made in
. Cars may change, along with hair-
styles and clothes, but the performances, partic-
ularly by the children and by E.T. himself, are so
honest, timeless, and true that the lm absolute-
ly quali es to be ranked as a classic.
What’s particularly special about tonight’s con-
cert is that we’ll hear one of our great symphony
orchestras, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
performing the entire score live, along with the
complete picture, sound e ects, and dialogue.
I know I speak for everyone connected with
the making of
E.T.
in saying that we’re greatly
honored by this event, and I hope that tonight’s
audience will nd great joy in experiencing this
magical lm.
E.T. e Extra-Terrestrial
: in Concert
produced by Film Concerts Live!, a joint venture of IMG
Artists, LLC, and e Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc.
Producers: Steven A. Linder and Jamie Richardson
Production Manager: Rob Stogsdill
Production Coordinator: Sophie Greaves
Worldwide Representation: IMG Artists, LLC
Supervising Technical Director: Mike Runice
Technical Director: Chris Szuberla
Music composed by John Williams
Music Preparation: Jo Ann Kane Music Service
Film Preparation for Concert Performance:
Ramiro Belgardt
Technical Consultant: Laura Gibson
Sound Remixing for Concert Performance:
Chace Audio by Deluxe
e score for
E.T. e Extra-Terrestrial
has been adapted
for live concert performance.
Special thanks to: Universal Pictures, Amblin
Entertainment, Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy,
John Williams, David Newman, Chris Herzberger,
Tamara Woolfork, Carol Nygren, Patrick Koors, Tammy
Olsen, Darice Murphy, Lauren Purnell, Kristin Stark,
Mark Graham and the musicians and sta of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Ravinia
EMIL DE COU,
conductor
A native of Los Angeles, Emil de Cou studied
at the University of Southern California under
Daniel Lewis, during which time he was chosen
to be a participant in master classes by Leonard
Bernstein at the Hollywood Bowl. In
he was
appointed the conductor of the American Ballet
eatre, which he le in
to take the same
position with San Francisco Ballet, where he re-
mained until
, having also become its acting
music director in
. He has also worked with
such companies as the New York City Ballet, Na-
tional Ballet of Canada, Suzanne Farrell Ballet,
and Paci c Northwest Ballet, which appointed
him its music director in
. In addition to
regularly appearing as a guest conductor with
orchestras across the United States, de Cou
has been closely associated with the National
Symphony Orchestra since his debut with the
ensemble at Wolf Trap in
, holding the po-
sition of associate conductor of NSO between
and
and having been its resident con-
ductor at Wolf Trap since
. He has also led
the Labor Day weekend concerts on the west
lawn of the US Capitol annually since
. De
Cou’s career highlights also include making his
Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops,
appearing in a gala tribute to Beverly Sills at
Lincoln Center with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s,
and leading the world-premiere presentations
of
e Wizard of Oz
with live orchestra (includ-
ing at Ravinia). He is also musical consultant
to NASA, collaborating on projects like
Salute
to Apollo, the Kennedy Legacy
, which commem-
orated the th anniversary of the moon land-
ings, as well as a multimedia concert celebrating
the
th anniversary of the launching of the
Hubble Space Telescope. For this work, he was
recently awarded the agency’s Exceptional Pub-
lic Achievement Medal. Tonight marks Emil de
Cou’s fourth appearance at Ravinia.
JOHN WILLIAMS,
composer
In a career spanning more than ve decades,
John Williams has become one of America’s
most accomplished and successful composers
for lm and for the concert stage, and he re-
mains one of our nation’s most distinguished
and contributive musical voices. He has com-
posed the music for more than
lms, in-
cluding all eight
Star Wars
lms, the rst three
Harry Potter
lms,
Superman, Memoirs of a
Geisha, Home Alone
,
and
e Book
ief.
His
-year artistic partnership with director Steven
Spielberg has resulted in many of Hollywood’s
most acclaimed and successful lms, including
Schindler’s List
,
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
,
Jaws
,
Jurassic Park
,
Close Encounters of the ird Kind
,
the
Indiana Jones
lms,
Saving Private Ryan
,
Lincoln
,
e BFG
,
and
e Post
. Williams has
also composed themes for four Olympic Games.
He served as music director of the Boston Pops
Orchestra for seasons and remains its Lau-
reate Conductor. He has composed numerous
works for the concert stage, including two sym-
phonies as well as concertos commissioned by
many of America’s most prominent orchestras.
Williams has received ve Academy Awards
and Oscar nominations (making him the
second-most nominated person in the history
of the Oscars), seven British Academy Awards,
Grammys, four Golden Globes, and ve Em-
mys. In
, he received the Olympic Order
(the IOC’s highest honor) for his contributions
to the Olympic movement. Williams received
the Kennedy Center Honors the following year,
and in
he received the National Medal of
Arts, the highest award given to artists by the
US Government. In
, Williams received the
th Life Achievement Award from the Amer-
ican Film Institute—the rst time a composer
was honored with this award.
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JULY 30 – AUGUST 5, 2018
110