Soundtrack to the long-awaiting next chapter in the Star Wars saga! Walt Disney Records is set to release the original motion picture soundtrack for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The album features a new score conducted and composed by five-time Academy Award®-winning composer John Williams. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker digital soundtrack is set for release on December 18. From the physical album's liner notes, director J.J. Abrams said, "Once again, John has come up with an utterly stunning soundtrack, creating brand new, gorgeous, frightening, mysterious, epic and intimate themes while also revisiting some of his greatest, classic melodies. My gratitude toward John Williams cannot be overstated — not just for elevating every scene in this film, but for providing us all with soundtracks that elevate our lives." John Williams stated in the album's liner notes, "More than 40 years ago, George Lucas introduced to the world his singular imagination, his ingenuity and his creative genius. He also gave me an opportunity never before enjoyed by an operatic or film composer…the chance to work continually for four decades on a single project, and with each film, to add to a collection of musical themes which I hope will be seen as parts of a singular, organic whole." "This experience has been one of the highlights of my professional life, bringing me so much joy in working with some of the world's greatest orchestras and musicians. I stand before the now completed nine Star Wars films with pride and gratitude for the gift of this extraordinary journey."

John Williams

was born in 1932 in Long Island, New York, and later moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1948. He studied composition at UCLA. After serving in the Air Force, Williams returned to New York to study piano at the Juilliard School of Music. He worked as a jazz pianist for a time before moving back to Los Angeles to begin his career in the film studios.

Mr. Williams has composed the music for close to eighty films and has composed some of the most famous themes ever written for cinema. Some of these include Harry Potter, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET - the Extraterrestrial, Jurassic Park, the Star Wars Pre-episode and Trilogy, the Indiana Jones Trilogy, Home Alone, and Empire of the Sun. Receiving 45 Academy Award nominations, Williams has been awarded with five Oscars, seven British Academy Awards, twenty-one Grammies and four Golden Globes. He also has several gold and platinum recordings. His film score for Schindler's List earned him an Oscar and a Grammy. With 45 Academy Award nominations, John Williams has the most nominations of any person alive, and is tied for second ever after Walt Disney!

Mr. Williams was named the 19th conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1980, retiring in 1993. He has appeared as guest conductor with many major orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and has also written many concert pieces. His concert compositions include: Five Sacred Trees, a bassoon concerto premiered by the New York Philharmonic in 1995, a cello concerto premiered in 1994 by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and several concertos for flute, violin, clarinet, and tuba. His trumpet concerto premiered in 1996 with the Cleveland Orchestra. In addition, Mr. Williams composed the themes for the NBC News, the 1987 International Special Olympics, and the 1984, 1988, and 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

