Category: Battlestar Galactica Concerts

Looking Ahead – So Say We All

June 2, 2021

I will never forget the summer of 2009, when my unique band, The BSG Orchestra, rocked out on a crowded stage in San Diego during Comic Con, performing my score for Battlestar Galactica, just months after the epic series finale aired. The venue was bursting with my brilliant musicians, many of the cast, crew, writers, producers, and executives, as well as fans from around the world. Together, we experienced a collective euphoria, because we all loved the show with the same intense passion. After the last encore, the crowd erupted into an unprompted chant of “So Say We All,” a moment that remains one of the most magical and memorable of my life. As the house lights came up and the crowd dissipated, I collapsed into a sweat-soaked heap on the couch in the greenroom and realized that, for the first in my life, I had no new cues for the show to write. Battlestar Galactica had been the most significant part of my life for six years, and now, with this concert complete, it was over.

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BSG Orchestra Concert Footage Released!

October 4, 2010

Hey all you lucky European BSG fans, you’re about to get an exclusive look at Battlestar Galactica Orchestra concert footage!  Five songs are being released today as part of the Battlestar Galactica Season 4 BluRay release in Europe!

The BluRay bonus feature includes complete performances of “A Distant Sadness,” “Baltar’s Dream,” “Fight Night,” “Apocalypse,” “Wander My Friends” and “Prelude to War.”  Here’s a sneak peek (click the images to play video):

“Wander My Friends”

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“Prelude to War”

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“Battlestar Galactica Symphony” World Premiere in Spain!

June 4, 2010

This summer I will conduct the largest and most ambitious “Battlestar Galatica” concert yet. The “Battlestar Galactica Symphony” will premiere in Tenerife, Spain, headlining a concert in Fimucité: The Tenerife International Film Music Festival.

This hour-long work incorporates musical material from the entire series, performed by a full orchestra, choir, taiko ensemble and select members of my own Battlestar Galactica Orchestra.

This unique combination of the symphonic, ethnic, rock and percussive realms will make this concert the most complete and authentic performance of the “Battlestar Galactica” score ever, and it’s all taking place in the idyllic Canary Islands of Spain. (more…)

BSG Suite in Symphonic Orchestra Concert, Oct. 24!

October 7, 2009

ONE NIGHT ONLY: On October 24th, the Golden State Pops Orchestra will perform a special tribute to composer Stu Phillips to commemorate his 80th birthday.  He will conduct his scores from the original Battlestar Galactica, as well as several other projects.  Richard Hatch and other new and original BSG alums will be there, and I will be there as a special guest, conducting my new arrangement of Stu’s classic theme!

My piece will be a combination of the various moments in my scores in which I quoted Stu’s timeless melody, drawing from “Colonial Anthem” from Season 2, “Husker in Combat” from Razor and, of course, “The Heart of the Sun” from the final episode.  Some of my own, original BSG themes will weave in there as well.

If you missed the summer concerts in downtown Los Angeles, San Diego, or my ballet, Prelude to War, in Germany last spring, this is your last chance this year to hear my Galactica score performed live in concert.  Since the concert program also includes Stu’s “Theme from Battlestar Galactica,” I want my “Colonial Anthem” to have all the unique qualities and sounds that set my score apart.  So, the orchestra will be joined on stage by BSG Orchestra superstars Paul Cartwright on electric violin, Chris Bleth on duduk and M.B. Gordy on taikos and ethnic percussion. (UPDATE: The line-up has changed.  See the bottom of this entry).

And even if you did see any of the previous shows, this one will be entirely different, since it involves a full orchestra!  This concert will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the classic and re-imagined Galactica scores together on one program.  There will also be a drawing to win CDs and other goodies signed by me and Stu.

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BSG Orchestra HOB Concerts – Highlights

August 2, 2009

“What you’re going to hear tonight are the musicians that have literally given us some of the finest music the world’s ever heard.”
– Edward James Olmos

I’m back from a whirlwind week in San Diego for Comic Con, and have lived to tell the tale!  I’ve collected here just a few of the memorable highlights from our Battlestar Galactica Orchestra concerts…

First of all, the interview above is among my most vivid memories of Comic Con ’09.  Edward James Olmos was being interviewed by NBCSanDiego.com and literally pulled the mic out of the host’s hands.  He immediately took over the production, interviewing me and the two vocalists in my band, Raya Yarbrough and Brendan McCreary.  This would be just one of countless surprises I experienced during these shows.

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