The New York Pops tunes up before the show. Photo: Stephanie Kotsikonas

The New York Pops concluded the final concert of its 2015-2016 season on April 8 at Carnegie Hall with a program celebrating the music of John Williams, the infamous film score composer whose soundtracks of films like Star Wars, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind have solidified him as one of the most well-known film composers of our time.

Under music director and conductor Steven Reineke, The New York Pops — the only orchestra in the city dedicated to popular music — treated the audience to iconic compositions such as March from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Adventures on Earth from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Shark Theme from Jaws, and Main Theme from Schindler’s List, which starred Cenovia Cummins on violin. The concert also marked the Carnegie Hall debut of 13-year-old violinist Ethan Olaes, who joined the Pops onstage for the Theme from Jurassic Park.

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the night, though, was the closing section dedicated entirely to Williams’ Star Wars scores. As the first few notes of the Main Title Theme rang out through the hall, the audience clapped and cheered. The orchestra then moved into a suite from Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, playing selections like Rey’s Theme, March of the Resistance, and The Jedi Steps. The music for The Force Awakens was only recently made available for commercial play, Reineke explained, making the Pops’ performance one of the first few ever to date.

Just when the audience thought the show was over, Reineke returned to the stage and turned to face the audience, holding up the tiny red light saber that would serve as his conductor’s baton for the encore performance of the Cantina Theme from Star Wars, a conclusion that left concert-goers humming and buzzing with excitement as they poured out of the hall.