New World Symphony Honors Legendary Film Composer John Williams at Thirty-Seventh Anniversary Gala, The Musical Magic of John Williams

New World Symphony will honor John Williams, the prolific composer behind some of the most iconic film scores of the past half century, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and E.T., at its thirty-seventh anniversary gala, The Musical Magic of John Williams, at New World Center on Saturday, February 22, 2025. New World Symphony Artistic Director Stéphane Denève will conduct a program featuring Williams’ greatest film scores, including selections from Superman, Jaws, Hook, Harry Potter and more. Some of the evening’s music will be paired with film montages and sequences.

“John Williams is a modern hero whose wondrous music became the soundtrack of our lives.” said Stéphane Denève, Artistic Director of the New World Symphony. “I am infinitely grateful to him for touching our hearts so deeply and, more privately, for being a role model of an exceptional human being. I treasure our precious friendship, which is deeply meaningful and inspiring to me, and thank him for accepting the invitation to come to Miami as special guest of our 2025 Gala. For our New World Symphony Fellows, meeting him, playing his iconic masterworks and learning from such a kind and generous soul will be an invaluable experience.”

“To be honored by the New World Symphony is deeply meaningful for me,” said Williams. “The NWS Fellows are an extraordinary group of talented musicians and my friendship with Stéphane Denève makes this event even more special. I’ve long felt that the New World Symphony is one of the crown jewels in American musical life, not just for its high artistic standards, but also for its dedication to fostering the next generation of musicians.”

Chairing this memorable evening is Tatiana Copeland, a national supporter of the arts and longtime friend of Stéphane Denève. Hailing from Delaware, Ms. Copeland serves on the Board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and alongside her husband, Gerret Copeland–a member of Delaware’s du Pont family, has been committed to the arts in Delaware for many years, including the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Delaware Art Museum, and the Grand Opera House in Wilmington. They also support arts festivals through their winery Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa, California. Ms. Copeland is very involved in the music world, as the composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff was her mother’s uncle, and she was named after his daughter Tatiana.

This marks the first New World Symphony gala chaired by someone outside of South Florida, which speaks to the national prominence and relevancy of New World Symphony’s mission to transform the future of classical music by preparing Fellows to be leaders in the field.

Proceeds from New World Symphony’s thirty-seventh anniversary gala, The Musical Magic of John Williams, will benefit the New World Symphony’s world class performances and life-changing educational opportunities.

New World Symphony will broadcast its gala outside the New World Center as part of its WALLCASTⓇ concert series, so people will be able to watch the performance live, under the stars in SoundScape Park and for free. Selections from the concert will be available online at NWS Inside for on-demand viewing following the event. NWS Inside is a free digital membership available at nws.edu/inside.

6:00 pm Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres

7:30 pm Performance

8:30 pm. Dinner

The Musical Magic of John Williams will also be presented as a WALLCAST® Concert, and made available for free on NWS Inside

NEW WORLD SYMPHONY

Stéphane Denève, Artistic Director and Conductor

John Williams, Special Guest

PROGRAM