On January 10, 2018, it was confirmed that John Williams would return to compose and conduct The Rise of Skywalker. The next month, Williams announced that it would be the last Star Wars film for which he would compose the score. In August 2019, at Tanglewood's Film Night, Williams revealed that scoring sessions were underway and that 80% of the music for Episode IX had been recorded and that an additional 40 minutes would be recorded at the request of director J. J. Abrams.
Recording of the score had begun in mid-July at Sony Pictures Studios' Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage in Culver City, but ended up requiring as many as 11 sessions scattered over a five-month period. Williams conducted the sessions himself, recording over three hours of music which consisted of new material and revisions of previous themes. Speaking about the recording process, he said that "It was a wonderful way to spend six or eight months...and for being grateful for having the energy and interest to work with the orchestra, which was very lovely." William Ross assisted with orchestrations, while mixing was handled by sound engineer Shawn Murphy. Like the previous sequel trilogy films, it was recorded with a 102-piece ensemble of the together with a 100-voice Los Angeles Master Chorale. The final day of recording occurred on November 18, 2019, with many of the cast and executives present, such as actors Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, and frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg.
