By Mabel Pais

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Sci-Fi Spectacular: Music from Star Wars, Star Trek and Beyond

Star Trek: The Next Generation and the 4 feature films that followed, will be presented by The NJ Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), an out-of-this-world night of film music on January 6-7, 2018 in Newark and New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Marina Sirtis, best known as counselor Deanna Troi on the television series, hosts.

The audience will be transported and enthralled when the orchestra blasts off to music of memorable themes of Star Wars, Star Trek, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more.

The music of composers like John Williams, Bernard Herrmann and others who have made great moments in science fiction come alive.

The program features vocalist Kristen Plumley and the Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir; Bob Bernhardt conducts.

Marina Sirtis: Host

Known to “Star Trek” fans the world over for her role as counselor Deanna Troi, English-born Marina Sirtis began her acting career as a member of a West Sussex repertory company at the Connaught Theater.

Counselor Troi was one of the respected and trusted characters in “The Next Generation,” and Sirtis’ portrayal endeared her to fans through seven television seasons and four feature films.

Beyond her live-action work, animation and gaming fans will recognize Sirtis’ voice from her roles in the fondly remembered Disney series “Gargoyles,” as well as “Adventure Time,” “Family Guy,” “Young Justice” and the hit “Mass Effect” gaming franchise.

Sirtis can next be seen in the comedy series “Internity” and the feature film 5th Passenger.

To learn more, visit www.marinasirtis.tv.

Bob Bernhardt:  Conductor

With 31 years of experience as a music director, 35 years as a pops conductor and 33 years in the opera pit, Bob Bernhardt brings a unique perspective and ability each time he is on the podium.

In 2015, Bernhardt was named principal pops conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony.

In the world of pops, he has worked with scores of stars from Broadway, rock & roll and the American Songbook, from Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kelli O’Hara to the Beach Boys and Wynonna to Jason Alexander and Megan Hilty.

Kristen Plumley, vocalist

Connecticut native Kristen Plumley enjoys singing everything from opera’s light lyric roles to oratorio to pops classics.

She also greatly enjoys pops concerts, and her favorite is Sci-Fi Spectacular, which she has performed with the Cleveland, Indianapolis, Seattle, Baltimore, Edmonton and Ottawa symphonies. In 2011, Plumley performed in the North American premiere of Handel’s first opera, Almira, with opera mission in New York.

More information is available at www.kristenplumley.com.

Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir

The award-winning Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir (Shayne Austin Miller, director) consists of 80 young performing artists ages 15–22. Over the past five years, the show choir has delighted more than 500,000 people across the region with their rousing renditions of Broadway, pop and classics.

More information about the Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir and their upcoming tour performance schedule is available at www.PaperMill.org/showchoir.

NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.

Music Director Xian Zhang – a “dynamic podium presence”…The New York Times has praised for her “technical abilities, musicianship and maturity”—continues her acclaimed leadership of the NJSO. The Orchestra presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO, the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, regularly performs at Theaters around the State.

To learn more about NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org.

NJSO Accents: Cosplay Contest

NJSO Accent events include a cosplay contest for audience members who dress up as their favorite sci-fi movie characters, beginning one hour before each performance.

Cosplay Competition—Sat, Jan 6 and Sun, Jan 7, one hour before the concert.

Dress up as your favorite sci-fi movie character and beam yourself into our costume parade and contest.

CONCERT PROGRAM

Sci-Fi Spectacular: Music from Star Wars, Star Trek and Beyond

Saturday, January 6, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Sunday, January 7, at 3 pm | State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick

Marina Sirtis, host

Bob Bernhardt, conductor

Kristen Plumley, vocalist

Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir | Shayne Austin Miller, director

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

Additional information is available at www.njsymphony.org/scifi.

Single tickets start at $20 and are available from the NJSO online at www.njsymphony.org, by phone at 1. 800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or in person.

The NJSO Patron Services office is located at 60 Park Place, 9th floor, in Newark; hours are Monday–Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, and concert Saturdays, 11 am to 5 pm.

Tickets for the January 7 performance are also available from State Theatre New Jersey online at www.STNJ.org, by phone at 732. 246.SHOW (7469) or in person.

(Mabel Pais is a freelance writer.  She writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health and Wellness, and Spirituality)