BSO hosts “Science Fiction Spectacular”

This past weekend, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented a musical event that defied its normal bounds of well-known classical pieces and traditional Pops programs. The “Sci-Fi Spectacular!” proved to be one of the Orchestra’s most well-attended concerts of the season so far and rewarded audiences with the Orchestra’s most impressive musicianship of the year.

The opening piece of the concert was none other than John Williams’ world-famous Star Wars “Main Titles.” Jack Everly, the BSO’s Principal Pops Conductor, bounded onstage and led the orchestra in a performance of the “Titles” that was full of energy, enthusiasm and technical precision. The brass section, in particular, was deservedly showcased in the heroic nature that is typical of Star Wars music.

Maestro Everly, who is also Principal Pops Conductor with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottowa), told audiences that the original Star Wars music had been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra almost 40 years ago. He added, though, that a better performance of the “Main Titles” had never been heard, which was met with applause of agreement from the audience.

Following sensational performances of various soundtracks from the sci-fi genre, including Superman, Somewhere in Time and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the lights in the hall went out — ominous music accompanied a show of sickly green lights as a dark figure walked onstage.

Raucous applause erupted as the spotlight fell upon a slight man with a wide grin and the famous “Live long and prosper” peace sign raised high — George Takei of Star Trek was in the house. Mr. Takei, known for playing Mr. Sulu on the original Star Trek television program, as well as many consecutive Star Trek films, proceeded to entertain the audience with anecdotes about the production and cast of the original series. The orchestra then began what every “Trekkie” in the audience was waiting for — the ever-famous theme music for the Star Trek show. Mr. Takei provided the narration (“Space, the final frontier. . .”) while Kristen Plumley, soprano, performed the theme’s melody.

After intermission, the Orchestra went on to perform themes from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and 2009’s Star Trek. The highlight of the second half came unexpectedly, in Bernard Herrmann’s less famous score of The Day the Earth Stood Still. The pulsing music, though less thematic than other pieces in the program, was brought to life by Maestro Everly and the Orchestra. Mr. Takei returned halfway through for a performance of a speech from the film originally spoken by Michael Rennie.

“The universe grows smaller every day, and the threat of aggression by any group, anywhere, can no longer be tolerated,” Takei said.

The Day The Earth Stood Still was released in 1951 during the Cold War, so it is clear what the speech is referring to. However, the conviction and urging tone with which Mr. Takei spoke was chilling and brought new life to the speech, expressing sadness at a world in which violence against “different” people is commonplace.

The “Spectacular” ended on a thrilling note, with an extraordinary rendition of John Williams’ “Duel of the Fates” and “End Title”, both from Star Wars. The Sci-Fi-Ettes vocal ensemble was showcased here and brought a very appropriate other-worldly quality to the music. Maestro Everly’s enthusiasm for the sci-fi genre was very apparent especially in the couple of times that he actually became airborne himself, jumping up off the conductor’s podium in moments of great musical climax.

Though the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra plays with great musicality and technique in every concert, and its performance in the “Sci-Fi Spectacular” was especially jaw-dropping. Accompanied by the laser-light show in the hall, Maestro Everly and the Orchestra transported audiences to another place — a galaxy far, far away. In a world where orchestral music is becoming less popular, performances like these make listeners remember the real power that music has to carry them away from the mundaneness of everyday life to an intangible place that thrills, entertains and fuels the soul.