We are excited to announce an out of this world new music experience joining us on Star Trek: The Cruise in 2024, the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music.
John de Lancie brought this amazing group to our attention with his strong connection to The Curtis Institute of Music. John’s father attended the Curtis Institute and went on to become the principal oboist for the Philadelphia Orchestra. John grew up attending countless concerts within the Curtis Institute’s halls and he has worked with us to help bring them to the 2024 sailing!
Hear from John’s perspective about the Curtis Institute of Music, and the amazing night of Trek themed music that has been planned.
I am thrilled to be bringing to the 2024 Star Trek: The Cruise, a musical experience that will be both personal and unique. This year, while on a National tour of Stravinsky’s “The Solders’ Tale” with the Curtis Institute of Music – one of the most prestigious music schools in the world – I had the pleasure to meet Nick DiBernadino, Chair of Composition at Curtis. With a wry smile, he told me he had written a Star Trek inspired piece to accompany Stravinsky. The work was entitled “Darmok and Jalad.”
Now, we all know Star Trek has been an inspiration for many an engineer, doctor, astronaut and scientist. But imagine my surprise to meet a gifted classical music composer who was equally uplifted by that little show once thought of as, “Wagon Train to the Stars.” The world premiere of “Darmok and Jalad” was performed in Phoenix this past February and it was wonderful. After the concert I asked Nick if he’d be interested in creating more Star Trek inspired compositions because I knew just the audience who would appreciate his music the most – the Star Trek: The Cruise audience.
What you will be hearing on the 2024 Cruise will be an evening of Trek inspired compositions by Nick DiBernadino, performed by some of the most talented young musicians in America – students at the Curtis Institute of Music. All of the pieces will be world premieres.
And here’s the personal part: I grew up in Philadelphia. My father was the principal oboist for the Philadelphia Orchestra. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, went on to teach and, eventually, to become its director. The Curtis Institute is in my blood. I’ve attended countless concerts within its halls. As a two-year-old, I learned to walk in the park across the street. That is why I’m so excited to be bringing together a Star Trek inspired musical evening, performed by the musicians of the Curtis Institute of Music, for you – the most unique of high seas audiences.
In addition to the main stage show which I’m calling “Darmok and Jalad and Friends,” there will be another live performance in the smaller theater that will give you a very personal, musical tour of the history of the Curtis Institute and many of its most famous alumni – Leonard Bernstein, for one. And what a fascinating history it is. In 1925, a young woman from Philadelphia – Mary Louise Curtis – used her inheritance to create what was to become one of the most prestigious music schools in the world. Every student who is fortunate enough to be accepted at Curtis gets a free education. And it’s been that way for the last 100 years! Through narration and visuals, the show will feature the seven fabulous young musicians who will have already performed on the main stage. The evening will be a personal journey of my growing up in the world of classical music!