John Williams is a music composer.
A composer ( Latin compono ; literally `` one who puts together '' ) is a person who creates or writes music , which can be vocal music ( for a singer or choir ) , instrumental music ( e.g. , for solo piano , string quartet , wind quintet or orchestra ) or music which combines both instruments and voices ( e.g. , opera or art song , which is a singer accompanied by a pianist ) . John Towner Williams ( born February 8 , 1932 ) is an American composer , conductor , and pianist . With a career spanning over six decades he has composed some of the most popular and recognizable film scores in cinematic history , to many of the highest-grossing films of all time , including Jaws , the Star Wars series , Superman , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , the Indiana Jones series , Jurassic Park , Schindler 's List , the first two Home Alone movies , and the first three Harry Potter films .