The music of Star Trek lands at Segerstrom

“Give me a moment,” the composer said. “I’m cramming notes into my mind.”

He was having a creative moment, forming music in his head and putting down fragments of ideas on paper so they wouldn’t be lost and could germinate into something more powerful.

Gerald Fried, the award-winning composer and oboist best known for creating the original sounds for the “Star Trek” television series — including the memorable fight music for the battle between Spock and Kirk. Also among his musical credentials are “Roots” and “Gilligan’s Island.”

And even at age 88, the native of New York City is still creating.

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He is currently working on the score for the sci-fi spoof “Unbelievable!!!!!,” a timely project, he said, that coincides with a landmark anniversary for the influential “Star Trek” science fiction entertainment franchise.

The franchise — the novels, comics, films and television series — will be celebrated with a 50th anniversary concert tour, “Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage,” landing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on Monday.

Fried won’t be able to make it to the performance, he said, but Segerstrom Center’s senior director of music programming, Aaron Egigian, said the center is thrilled to bring the composer’s music live to the stage.

“The legacy and influence of ‘Star Trek’ is truly remarkable,” Egigian said. “It is a beloved franchise that has garnered some of the most enthusiastic fans. Mr. Fried’s music is inseparable from the shows, woven into our experience and knowledge of the characters and dramatic situations. It’s a testament to the artistry and brilliance of his music.”

Long before Fried would become an accomplished composer, writing and arranging original music, he was studying at The Juilliard School, specializing in the oboe, a woodwind instrument commonly used in concert bands, orchestras and films.

“I used to hang around with big-mouthed wise-guys in Greenwich Village and one guy said he worked in the movies,” Fried said one recent afternoon by phone from his home in Santa Fe, N. M. “He knew I was an oboe major at Juilliard and he asked that I help on a session for a picture film. That nerd was Stanley Kubrick.”

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Kubrick, the famous movie producer and director, grew up in the Bronx and began directing short films on a shoestring budget. He made his first major Hollywood film, “The Killing,” for United Artists in 1956. Fried composed the movie’s music and scored five of Kubrick’s films in a row.

After playing as first oboist with the Dallas Symphony for seven years after his graduation, Fried moved to Los Angeles and arranged for a variety of television shows like “My Three Sons,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E,” and “The Man Who Never Was.”

His most notable venture arrived in 1966, with “Star Trek.”

The music composing process is a personal one, Fried said, and all music must be initially inspired.

That initial spark launches when he first watches the picture in rough form. As he reacts to an important scene, Fried he will journey into deep, reflective thoughts and begin asking himself what he wants the audience to feel during a particular moment, he said. From there, he will tailor his own feelings and put those emotions into notes.

Fried said he stirs his imagination when he recalls orchestral works that he likes, especially when he replays 18th century musical classicism.

“Beethoven excites the hell out of me, so I’ll start thinking of other influential sounds too, like jazz or hip-hop, and then you start developing a personal style,” Fried said. “That’s how you build your repertoire.”

Such a method was used for the “Trek” composition, “The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah,” which played during the “koon-ut-kal-if-fee” battle scene between Kirk and Spock in the episode “Amok Time.”

The music was used again in several episodes throughout the second season and became one of the most memorable pieces from the series.

When Fried first watched the battle during a screening, he said he reflected on the horror of two friends having to kill each other.

One particular “Star Trek” song favorite that makes him smile every time he hears it, he said, is his modern version of an Irish jig for an episode where Captain Kirk was challenged to fight a bulky Irishman.

“Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage” will feature some of the music written for the franchise, including arrangements from “Star Trek: The Original Series,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” among other selections. The production will showcase a live symphony orchestra performing the sounds while the “Star Trek’ film and television footage plays in high definition on a wide screen.

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What: “Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage”

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday

Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

Cost: Tickets start at $59

Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org

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Kathleen Luppi, [email protected]

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi