For Immediate Release

April 20, 2015

Music Instructor To Perform on

New Star Wars Movie Sound Track

Moreno Valley College associate professor of Music Donald Foster is becoming a force in the film music industry.

Foster, a clarinet player, to help score the music to Star Wars: the Force Awakens, the seventh installment in the epic movie franchise. Legendary composer John Williams, who will write the score, has composed the music for every film in the series, starting with the first movie back in 1977. The fact that music production is taking place in Los Angeles is also newsworthy; previously films were scored at Abbey Road with the London Symphony Orchestra. The move to Los Angeles will generate millions of dollars in wages, benefits and other production spending. Music sessions will begin this month and span several months.

For Foster this is becoming a regular gig. He and Williams first worked together on the Indiana Jones movie Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . In December 2013, Foster performed on the soundtrack for the The Book Thief , earning an on-film screen credit, a rarity for musicians. Foster also worked on The Adventures of Tin Tin The Secret of the Unicorn , War Horse , and the re-recording of the NBC Sports theme, and performed on the soundtrack for The Maze Runner , while working regularly on the ABC show Revenge and Resurrection .

"I remember being drawn to John Williams' music from a very early age, whether I was hiding my face while watching Jaws or reveling in the emotional delight of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," Foster said. "The fact that I am now working for him regularly and will get to be a part of the Star Wars franchise is such an enormous concept, I simply never had the courage or even knew it was possible to dream so big."

In addition to teaching and scoring music for film and television, Foster performs regularly with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and the Pasadena and the Santa Barbara symphonies.

Williams has been nominated for 49 Academy Awards, winning five; six Emmy Awards, winning three; 25 Golden Globe Awards, winning four; 65 Grammy Awards, winning 22; and has received seven British Academy Film Awards. He currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person, and is the second most nominated person in Academy Awards history behind Walt Disney.

Ironically, Star Wars: The Force Awakens marks the first film Williams will compose and score under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd., the movie production company founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, in 2012 for $4 billion. The film is scheduled for release on Dec. 18, 2015.

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