Very soon, in a concert hall not so very far, far away, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Kevin Rhodes, and the Springfield Symphony Chorus, directed by Nikki Stoia, will be touring the galaxy on the wings of music from the Star Wars and Star Trek series.

On Saturday March 3, at 7:30 p.m. we set a course for musical territory where very few have gone before. In fact, one of the Star Trek excerpts Rhodes has tracked down has never been performed in a concert setting.

The episode for which this music was composed, Amok Time, was the second-season premiere, first broadcast on Sept. 15, 1967. It featured Spock returning to his homeworld for a Vulcan mating ritual. The script was written by Sci-fi author Theodore Sturgeon and the music by Gerald Fried.

"[The music, entitled The Ancient Combat, is] one of the most famous underscore moments in television history - the music behind the Kirk/Spock fight!" Rhodes said.

The orchestra will also play The Menagerie Suite, which also includes Alexander Courage's theme music for the original TV series. In that episode, Kirk and Capt. Christopher Pike struggle with the Talosians and their mind games, Rhodes recalled. This music was originally written, he said, for the very first unaired pilot, The Cage, in 1964.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is represented by James Horner's main title music. "Khaaaaaaaaannnn!!!! (need I say more)," Rhodes quipped. Leonard Rosenman's main title music to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, is included, as is Jerry Goldsmith's end cast music from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, also used as the theme for Star Trek, the Next Generation.

From The Next Generation, Rhodes has selected Inner Light by Jay Chattaway, "...in which (Rhodes explained) Capt. Jean Luc Picard lives someone else's entire life - including children and grandchildren - as well as learning how to play the flute. When it's all done and he's back aboard the Enterprise, he plays that flute in solitude with those memories of a life that could have been."

Music is an all-important component of film. It has the capability to transcend time and manipulate a viewer's emotional response like no other artistic medium. As Chattaway's music can take us back through Picard's acquired memories, so John Williams' iconic scores can rekindle visions of spacecraft arrowing across distant starfields, and of heroic deeds being attempted and accomplished.

From the Star Wars musical canon, Rhodes has selected excerpts from all three of its different eras, the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, and the newest trilogy.

His playlist includes Star Wars main title; Duel of the Fates from Episode I, The Phantom Menace; Across the Stars (Love Theme) from Episode II, Attack of the Clones; Battle of the Heroes, (with chorus) from Episode III, Revenge of the Sith; Cantina Band and Princess Leia's Theme from Episode IV, A New Hope; The Asteroid Field and Luke and Leia Love Theme from Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back; The Jedi Steps and March of the Resistance from Episode VII, The Force Awakens; and Star Wars end title.

"OK, folks," Rhodes concluded, "get your cosplay on and get ready for an out-of-this-world musical adventure! This will truly be a concert where no one has gone before in a concert hall close, close to home, for one night only!"

Tickets for this Star Wars and Star Trek Sci-Fi Spectacular priced from $22 to $65 may be obtained online at www.springfieldsymphony.org or by calling the box office at (413) 733-2291.