BSO SuperPops Boldly Goes Where No Orchestra Has Gone Before with Sci-Fi Spectacular, January 17-20

Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, George Takei, narrates concerts featuring music from Star Wars, Star Trek and Harry Potter

Baltimore, Md. (December 12, 2007) - Universes will collide when BSO Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra SuperPops and an all-star vocal ensemble in iconic works from Star Wars, Star Trek, Superman and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, January 17 at the Music Center at Strathmore and January 18-20 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Symphony audiences rarely see a conductor using a light saber for a baton, singers donning Star Trek apparel, transporter beam special effects or a dazzling laser light show, but the Sci-Fi Spectacular will have all these thematic elements. The cast includes narrator George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu in Star Trek for 41 years, Broadway tenor Mike Eldred and soprano Kristen Plumley, backed by the Sci-fi-ettes choral ensemble. See below for complete program information.

Designed to appeal to a variety of science fiction interests, this program also includes works from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999), Somewhere in Time (1980), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1972), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Science fiction television shows are also included in a piece especially created for this show. BSO Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly arranged Lost in Syndication, a medley of science fiction television show theme songs pulling from The X-Files, The Jetsons, Twilight Zone, Lost in Space, Outer Limits and Stargate. The king of science fiction soundtracks, John Williams, composed eight out of 14 works featured in this program.

George Takei will take a break from his busy acting schedule to narrate these performances with the BSO. Takei currently appears on NBC-TV's prime time show Heroes as Kaito Nakamura. After beaming down to the stage, Takei will act out famous speeches from selected films as well as additional narration on the program.

Audiences are encouraged to "dress the part."

Jack Everly, conductor
Known for his innovative programming ideas and his knowledge of and love for this genre, Jack Everly is Principal Pops Conductor of the Baltimore, Indianapolis and National Arts Centre (Ottawa) symphony orchestras.

Music Director of American Ballet Theater for 14 years, Mr. Everly conducted thousands of performances and dozens of world premieres for that company. He teamed with Marvin Hamlisch in shows that Mr. Hamlisch composed. Mr. Everly has appeared on "In Performance at the White House" and has been music director on numerous Broadway cast recordings, including Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He conducted the PBS "Dance in America" at New York's City Center as well as the PBS telecast from the Metropolitan Opera House of the Prokofiev-MacMillan Romeo and Juliet.

A frequent guest conductor on the world's concert, opera and ballet stages, Mr. Everly's appearances include the National Symphony of London, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, the Teatro Colón, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 

Mr. Everly also serves as the Music Advisor for the Symphony Pops Consortium (SPC), an alliance formed by the Indianapolis, Detroit, St. Louis, Milwaukee, National and Seattle symphony orchestras. The SPC is producer of programs that include A Celtic Celebration-The Music of the Emerald Isle, Those Glorious Musicians-A Tribute to MGM and Pops Goes British, featuring the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

George Takei, narrator
George Takei, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed television and film series Star Trek, has more than 30 feature films and hundreds of television guest-starring roles to his credit. Currently, Mr. Takei is a recurring character on NBC-TV's hit show Heroes.

Mr. Takei received a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame in 1986 and he placed his signature and hand print in the forecourt of the landmark Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood in 1991.

Among his credits is a music industry accolade-a 1987 Grammy nomination in the "Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording" category. Mr. Takei's distinctive voice is featured in Walt Disney Pictures' full-length animated features, Mulan and Mulan II, Star Trek audio novel recordings, Fox Television's The Simpsons and Futurama, and in numerous voice-overs and narrations.

Mr. Takei has been a guest narrator for several symphony orchestras. In November 2004, he narrated Copland's Lincoln Portrait with the Honolulu Symphony conducted by Samuel Wong. He has narrated Johan de Meij's The Lord of the Rings Symphony with the Long Island Philharmonic and other orchestras, all conducted by David Warble.

Mr. Takei is a community and political activist and serves as chair of the council of governors of East West Players. He is chairman emeritus of the board of trustees of the Japanese American National Museum.  He is a member of the Human Rights Campaign and a spokesman for HRC's Coming Out Project.

Mike Eldred, vocalist
Mike Eldred is one of America's most in-demand and beloved tenors. He has performed with many symphony orchestras including the Chicagoland Pops, the Kansas City Pops, the Cincinnati Pops, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the Illinois Philharmonic, Chicago's Grant Park Orchestra and the Nashville Symphony. Mr. Eldred is hosting and starring in the 2007 BSO Holiday Spectacular.

Multi-talented Mr. Eldred also starred on Broadway in the recent "final cast" of Les Misérables in the role of Jean Valjean. He has performed with award-winning artists including Jim Brickman, Michael Bolton, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Richard Marx, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder and Trisha Yearwood. Mr. Eldred has released five solo recordings since he began his career more than 20 years ago in the gospel recording industry.

Kristen Plumley, vocalist
Connecticut native Kristen Plumley has portrayed, among others, Norina (Don Pasquale) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) with Virginia Opera, Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) with New York City Opera, Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Boheme Opera (NJ) and Opera Theatre of Connecticut, Despina (Così fan tutte) with Lyric Opera of Cleveland, and Yum-Yum (The Mikado) with Opera Memphis.

On the concert stage Ms. Plumley has performed a broad spectrum of works, including Mozart's Coronation Mass and Haydn's Mass in Time of War with the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, Mozart's Mass in C Minor and Elgar's For the Fallen, Bach's Coffee Cantata, Respighi's Laud to the Nativity, Bach's First Cantata and A Yuletide Celebration with the Indianapolis, Seattle and Portland Symphonies.

COMPLETE PROGRAM INFORMATION
SuperPops presents Sci-Fi Spectacular
Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.- The Music Center at Strathmore
Friday, January 18, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.- Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.- JMSH
Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.- JMSH

Jack Everly, conductor
George Takei, narrator
Mike Eldred, vocalist
Kristin Plumley, vocalist
The Sci-fi-ettes

John Williams: Main Title from Star Wars
Various: Lost In Syndication, Arr. Jack Everly
John Williams: Adventures on Earth: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
John Williams: Can You Read My Mind? from Superman
John Williams: Superman March
Various: Star Trek Through The Years, Arr. Calvin Custer
Richard Strauss: Theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey 
John Williams: Close Encounters of the Third
Diane Warren: Where My Heart Will Take Me from Star Trek Enterprise  
John Williams: Hedwig's Flight from Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone
John Barry: Somewhere In Time 
Bernard Herrmann: The Day The Earth Stood Still
John Williams: Duel of the Fates from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
John Williams: The Throne Room and End Title from Star Wars 

Special anniversary pricing at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall is made possible by generous underwriting from the PNC Foundation.

Baltimore Magazine is the print sponsor for this program.

101.9 Lite FM is the radio sponsors for this program.

Tickets for these concerts range from $15 to $84 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 877.BSO.1444 or 410.783.8000, or BSOmusic.org.

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