Star Trek: Into Darkness is the second movie in the J.J. Abrams rebooted version of the Gene Roddenberry sci-fi series and it was our privilege to go along to the Saturday evening performance of Star Trek: Live in Concert. What made the performance ever greater was the event took place at the world famous Royal Albert Hall in London, and was performed by the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra. The group were formed in 1999 by conductor Ludwig Wicki who took control of his musicians performing the score written by Michael Giacchino. The Orchestra have worked previously on the likes of Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and the James Bond film series.
Giacchino was obviously extremely honoured to have his work played at this fantastic venue and filmed everyone saying hello to his kids back in the states (you can see it in the video below).
The film score for Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness are just breathtaking, so watching and listening to the orchestra perform was magical. For those who’ve never been before, the film is shown on a huge screen above the orchestra and choir but is slightly silenced with the subtitles on screen so that the orchestra can be heard overall. It’s a very strange experience being completely immersed by such an amazing orchestra with the magnificent acoustics that the Albert Hall gives. Sometimes you’ll find yourself look at the screening then looking down to be reminded that everything you’re hearing is happening live.
After the performance was over, we got a rather special treat as composer Michael Giacchino came on stage to thank Ludwig Wicki and the musicians and then performed a track from his new movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It was a haunting track starting very quietly and you could imagine where it may feature in the new movie which is out later this summer.
If you get a chance to attend one of these movies live in concert it’s an absolute must! The Royal Albert Hall host two or three of these events every year and have West Side Story, The Godfather, Titanic and the special Danny Elfman show experience coming up over the next 12 months so go onto their website and get booking!
Thanks again to The Royal Albert Hall for inviting us along. Can’t wait for the next!
