List of Star Trek composers and music
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This is a list of composers of music for the series ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'', and other articles about music associated with the franchise.


Composers

The following individuals wrote movie scores, theme music, or incidental music for several episodes and/or installments of the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Other composers who contributed music to at least one episode include Don Davis, John Debney,
Brian Tyler Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 24-year career, Tyler has scored '' Transformers: Prime'', ''Eagle E ...
, George Romanis, Sahil Jindal, Andrea Datzman, and Kris Bowers.


Film soundtracks overview


''The Original Series''


''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (1979)

The score for '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' was written by
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
, who would later compose the scores '' Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'', '' Star Trek: First Contact'', '' Star Trek: Insurrection'', and '' Star Trek: Nemesis'', as well as the themes to the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' Star Trek: Voyager''.
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...
had originally wanted Goldsmith to score ''Star Trek'''s pilot episode, "
The Cage The Cage may refer to: Sports * West Fourth Street Courts, also known as "The Cage", as of 1978, a public venue for amateur basketball in New York City * Al-Shorta Stadium, 1990-2014, former football stadium of Al-Shorta SC, nicknamed "The Cage ...
", but the composer was unavailable.Goldsmith, Jerry. ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture Directors Edition'' isc 2 Special features: Commentary. When Robert Wise signed on to direct the film, Paramount asked the director if he had any objection to using Goldsmith. Wise, who had worked with the composer for ''
The Sand Pebbles ''The Sand Pebbles'' is a 1962 novel by American author Richard McKenna about a Yangtze River gunboat and its crew in 1926. It was the winner of the 1963 Harper Prize for fiction. The book was initially serialized in the ''Saturday Evening Po ...
'', replied "Hell, no. He's great!" Wise would later consider his work with Goldsmith one of the best relationships he ever had with a composer. Goldsmith was influenced by the style of the romantic, sweeping music of ''Star Wars''. "When you stop and think about it, space is a very romantic thought. It is, to me, like the Old West, we’re up in the universe. It’s about discovery and new life ..it’s really the basic premise of ''Star Trek''," he said. Goldsmith's initial bombastic main theme reminded Ramsay and Wise of sailing ships. Unable to articulate what he felt was wrong with the piece, Wise recommended writing an entirely different piece. Although irked by the rejection, Goldsmith consented to re-work his initial ideas. The rewriting of the theme required changes to several sequences Goldsmith had scored without writing the main title piece. The approach of Kirk and Scott to the drydocked ''Enterprise'' by shuttle lasted a ponderous five minutes due to the effect shots coming in late and unedited, requiring Goldsmith to maintain interest with a revised and developed cue.. Lone Eagle Publishing Co., 1999. ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' is the only ''Star Trek'' film to have a true
overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...
, using "Ilia's Theme" in this role. ''Star Trek'' and ''
The Black Hole ''The Black Hole'' is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine, ...
'' would be the only feature films to use an overture from the end of 1979 until the year 2000 (with the movie ''
Dancer in the Dark ''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical drama film written and directed by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. It stars Icelandic musician Björk as a factory worker who suffers from a degenerative eye condition and is saving for an operation to p ...
''). Much of the recording equipment used to create the movie's intricately complicated sound effects was, at the time, extremely cutting edge. Among these pieces of equipment was the ADS (''Advanced Digital Synthesizer'') 11, manufactured by
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...
custom synthesizer manufacturer
Con Brio, Inc. Con Brio, Inc. (alternatively spelled Conbrio or ConBrio) was a short-lived but influential synthesizer manufacturing company which, from 1978 to 1982, produced its most famous (and only) product, the ADS (an acronym for ''Advanced Digital Synthesiz ...
The movie provided major publicity and was used to advertise the synthesizer, though no price was given. The film's soundtrack also provided a debut for the
Blaster Beam The blaster beam is a concept electric musical instrument consisting of a 12 to long metal beam strung with numerous tensed wires under which are mounted electric guitar pickups which can be moved to alter the sound produced. The instrument is ...
, an electronic instrument long. It was created by musician
Craig Huxley Craig Huxley (also known as Craig Hundley; born 1954) is an actor, inventor, and musician. He led three albums that were released by Pacific Jazz Records in the late 1960s. In 1967, as a child, he played Captain Kirk's nephew in a '' Star Trek'' ...
, who played a small role in two episodes of the original television series. The Blaster had steel wires connected to amplifiers fitted to the main piece of aluminum; the device was played with an artillery shell. Goldsmith heard it and immediately decided to use it for V'ger's cues. An enormous pipe organ first plays the V'ger theme on the ''Enterprise''s approach, a literal indication of the machine's power. Goldsmith scored ''The Motion Picture'' over three to four months, a relatively relaxed schedule compared to typical production, but time pressures resulted in Goldsmith bringing on colleagues to assist in the work.
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
, composer of the original ''Star Trek'' theme, provided arrangements to accompany Kirk's log entries, while
Fred Steiner Frederick Steiner (February 24, 1923 – June 23, 2011) was an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, film historian and arranger for television, radio and film. Steiner wrote the theme music for ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' an ...
wrote the music to accompany the ''Enterprise'' achieving warp speed and first meeting V'ger. The rush to finish the rest of the film impacted the score. The final recording session finished at 2:00am on December 1, only five days before the film's release. A soundtrack featuring the film's music was released in 1979 together with the film debut and was one of Goldsmith's best-selling scores. Sony's
Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...
released an expanded two-disc edition of the soundtrack on November 10, 1998. The album added 21 minutes of music to supplement the original tracklist, and was resequenced to reflect the storyline of the film. The first disc features the expanded score, while the sequence disc contains "Inside Star Trek", a
spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
documentary. In 2012
La-La Land Records
released

which includes the complete score along with alternates and outtakes remastered from restored original 16 track masters, the original digital album master, and popular cover versions of the film's love theme.


''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982)

While
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
had composed the music for ''The Motion Picture'', he was not an option for '' The Wrath of Khan'' due to a budget reduction; director
Nicholas Meyer Nicholas Meyer (born December 24, 1945) is an American writer and director, known for his best-selling novel ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'', and for directing the films ''Time After Time (1979 film), Time After Time'', two of the ''Star Trek'' ...
's composer for '' Time After Time'', Miklós Rózsa, was likewise prohibitively expensive. Meyer and producer
Harve Bennett Harve Bennett (born Harve Bennett Fischman; August 17, 1930 – February 25, 2015) was an American television producer, television and film producer and screenwriter. Early years Bennett was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Chicago, Ill ...
wanted the music for the sequel to go in a different direction but had not decided on a composer by the time filming began. Initially, Meyer hoped to hire an associate named John Morgan, but Morgan lacked film experience, which would have troubled the studio. Paramount's vice-president of music Joel Sill took a liking to a 28-year-old composer named James Horner, feeling that his demo tapes stood out from generic film music. Horner was introduced to Bennett, Meyer, and Salin.Anderson, 71. Horner said that "
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did not want the kind of score they had gotten before. They did not want a
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
score, ''per se''. They wanted something different, more modern." When asked about how he landed the assignment, the composer replied that "the producers loved my work for '' Wolfen'', and had heard my music for several other projects, and I think, so far as I've been told, they liked my versatility very much. I wanted the assignment, and I met with them, we all got along well, they were impressed with my music, and that's how it happened." Horner agreed with the producers' expectations and agreed to begin work in mid-January 1982. In keeping with the nautical tone, Meyer wanted music evocative of seafaring and swashbuckling, and the director and composer worked together closely, becoming friends in the process. As a classical music fan, Meyer was able to describe the effects and sounds he wanted in the music. While Horner's style was described as "echoing both the bombastic and elegiac elements of John Williams' ''Star Wars'' and
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
's original ''Star Trek'' (The Motion Picture) scores," Horner was expressly told not to use any of Goldsmith's score. Instead, Horner adapted the opening fanfare of
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
's ''Star Trek'' television theme. "The fanfare draws you in immediately—you know you're going to get a good movie," Horner said. In comparison to the flowing main theme, Khan's
leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
was designed as a percussive texture that could be overlaid with other music and emphasized the character's insanity. The seven-note brass theme was echoplexed to emphasize the character's ruminations about the past while on Ceti Alpha V, but does not play fully until ''Reliant''s attack on the ''Enterprise''. Many elements drew from Horner's previous work (a rhythm that accompanies Khan's theme during the surprise attack borrows from an attack theme from ''Wolfen'', in turn influenced by Goldsmith's score for ''
Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
''. Musical moments from the original television series are also heard during investigation of the Regula space station and elsewhere. To Horner, the "stuff underneath" the main story was what needed to be addressed by the score; in ''The Wrath of Khan'', this was the relationship between Kirk and Spock. The main theme serves as Kirk's theme, with a mellower section following that is the theme for the Starship ''Enterprise''. Horner also wrote a motif for Spock, to emphasize the character's depth: "By putting a theme over Spock, it warms him and he becomes three-dimensional rather than a collection of schticks."Anderson, 72. The difference in the short, French horn-based cues for the villain and longer melodies for the heroes helped to differentiate characters and ships during the battle sequences. The soundtrack was Horner's first major film score, and was written in four and a half weeks. The resulting 72 minutes of music was then performed by a 91-piece orchestra. Recording sessions took place April 12–15 at the
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
lot, The Burbank Studios. A pickup session was held on April 30 to record music for the Mutara nebula battle, while another session held on May 3 was used to cover the recently changed epilogue. Horner used
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s for ancillary effects; at the time, science-fiction films such as ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, d ...
'' and '' The Thing'' were eschewing the synthesizer in favor of more traditional orchestras.
Craig Huxley Craig Huxley (also known as Craig Hundley; born 1954) is an actor, inventor, and musician. He led three albums that were released by Pacific Jazz Records in the late 1960s. In 1967, as a child, he played Captain Kirk's nephew in a '' Star Trek'' ...
performed his invented instrument—the
Blaster Beam The blaster beam is a concept electric musical instrument consisting of a 12 to long metal beam strung with numerous tensed wires under which are mounted electric guitar pickups which can be moved to alter the sound produced. The instrument is ...
—during recording, as well as composing and performing electronic music for the Genesis Project video. While most of the film was "locked-in" by the time Horner had begun composing music, he had to change musical cue orchestration after the integration of special effects caused changes in scene durations.


''Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' (1984)

Composer James Horner returned to score '' The Search for Spock'', fulfilling a promise he had made to Bennett on ''The Wrath of Khan''. Much like the content of the film, Horner's music was a direct continuation of the score he wrote for the previous film. When writing music for ''The Wrath of Khan'', Horner was aware he would reuse certain cues for an impending sequel; two major themes he reworked were for Genesis and Spock. While the Genesis theme supplants the title music Horner wrote for ''The Wrath of Khan'', the end credits were quoted "almost verbatim".Simak. In hours-long discussions with Bennett and Nimoy, Horner agreed with the director that the "romantic and more sensitive" cues were more important than the "bombastic" ones. Horner had written Spock's theme to give the character more dimension: "By putting a theme over Spock, it warms him and he becomes three-dimensional rather than a collection of schticks," he said. The theme was expanded in ''The Search for Spock'' to represent the ancient alien mysticism and culture of Spock and Vulcan. Among the new cues Horner wrote was a "percussive and atonal" theme for the Klingons which is represented heavily in the film. Jeff Bond described the cue as a compromise between music from Horner's earlier film '' Wolfen'', Khan's motif from ''The Wrath of Khan'', and
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
's Klingon music from ''The Motion Picture''. Horner also adapted music from
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
's ''
Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' for part of the ''Enterprise'' theft sequence and its destruction, while the scoring to Spock's resurrection on Vulcan draws similarities to Horner's '' Brainstorm'' ending.


''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (1986)

James Horner, composer for ''The Wrath of Khan'' and ''The Search for Spock'', declined to return for '' The Voyage Home''. Because of this Nimoy turned to his friend
Leonard Rosenman Leonard Rosenman (September 7, 1924 – March 4, 2008) was an American film, television and concert composer with credits in over 130 works, including ''East of Eden (film), East of Eden'', ''Rebel without a Cause'', ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Ho ...
, who had written the music to, among other films, ''
Fantastic Voyage ''Fantastic Voyage'' is a 1966 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who are shrunk to microscop ...
'', Ralph Bakshi's ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'', and two ''
Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...
'' sequels.Breyer. Rosenman wrote an arrangement of
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
's ''Star Trek'' television theme as the title music for ''The Voyage Home'', but Nimoy suggested that he write his own instead. As music critic Jeff Bond writes, "The final result was one of the most unusual ''Star Trek'' movie themes," consisting of a six note theme and variations set against a repetitious four note brass motif; the theme's bridge is reminiscent of material in Rosenman's "Frodo March" for ''The Lord of the Rings''. The melody makes appearances in the beginning of the film at Vulcan as well as when Taylor seeks Kirk's help finding her whales. The Earth-based setting of the filming gave Rosenman leeway to write a variety of music in different styles. Nimoy intended the crew's introduction to the streets of San Francisco to be accompanied by something reminiscent of
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
, but Rosenman changed the director's mind and the scene was scored with a contemporary
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
piece by Yellowjackets. When Chekov flees detention aboard the aircraft carrier, Rosenman wrote a bright cue that incorporated classical Russian compositions, while the escape from the hospital was done in a baroque style. More familiar Rosenman compositions included the action music as the Bird of Prey and a whaling ship face off in open water, while the whale's communication with the probe used atmospheric music reminiscent of the composer's work in ''Fantastic Voyage''. After the probe leaves, the music turns into a
Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...
esque "whale fugue". The first sighting of the ''Enterprise''-A uses the Alexander Courage theme before the end title music.
Mark Mangini Mark Mangini (born 1956) is an American sound editor with over 125 film credits. He won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Sound Editing along with David White for their work on '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. Mangini is renowned for recording and ed ...
served as ''The Voyage Home''s sound designer. He described it as different from working on many other films because Nimoy appreciated the role of sound effects and made sure that they were prominent in the film. Since many sounds familiar to ''Star Trek'' had already been established—the Bird of Prey's cloaking device, the transporter beam, et al.—Mangini focused on making only small changes to them. The most important sounds were those created by the whales and the probe. Mangini's brother lived close to
Roger Payne Roger Searle Payne (born January 29, 1935) is an American biologist and environmentalist famous for the 1967 discovery (with Scott McVay) of whale song among humpback whales. Payne later became an important figure in the worldwide campaign to e ...
, a biologist who had many recordings of whale song. Mangini went through the tapes and chose sounds that could be mixed to suggest a sort of language and conversation. The probe's screeching calls were the whale song in distorted form. The humpback's communication with the probe at the climax of the film contained no dramatic music, meaning that Mangini's sounds had to stand alone. He recalled that he had some difficulty with envisioning how the scene would unfold, leading Bennett to perform a
puppet show Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...
to explain. Nimoy and the other producers were unhappy with Mangini's attempts to create the probe's droning operating noise; after 18 attempts, the sound designer finally asked Nimoy what he thought the probe should sound like, and recorded Nimoy's response. Nimoy's voice was distorted with "just the tiniest bit of dressing" and used as the final sound.Special features, "Below-the-Line: Sound Design". The punk music that blares during the bus scene was written by Thatcher after he learned that the audio to be added to the scene would be "
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
, or whoever" and not "raw" and authentic punk. Thatcher collaborated with Mangini and two
sound editors In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
(who were in punk bands) to create their own music. They decided that punk distilled down to the sentiment of "I hate you", and wrote a sound to match. Recording in the sound studio as originally planned produced too clean a sound, so they moved to the outside hallway and recorded the entire band in one take using cheap microphones to create the distorted sound intended.Special features: "On Location". The song was later used for Paramount's "
Back to the Beach ''Back to the Beach'' is a 1987 American comedy film starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, directed by Lyndall Hobbs. The original music score is composed by Steve Dorff. The film generated a total domestic gross of $13,110,903. It r ...
".


''Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'' (1989)

Music critic Jeff Bond wrote that Shatner made "at least two wise decisions" in making ''
The Final Frontier ''The Final Frontier'' is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 13 August 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, 17 August in North America, 18 August in Japan, and 16 August worldwide. At 76&nbs ...
''; he chose
Laurence Luckinbill Laurence George Luckinbill (born November 21, 1934) is an American actor, playwright and director. He has worked in television, film, and theatre, doing triple duty in the theatre by writing, directing, and starring in stage productions. He is kn ...
to play the role of Sybok, and he hired
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
to compose the film's score. Goldsmith had written the Academy Award-nominated score for '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', and the new ''Trek'' film was an opportunity to craft music with a similar level of ambition while adding action and character—two elements largely missing from ''The Motion Picture''. Goldsmith's main theme begins with the traditional opening notes from
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
's original television series theme; an ascending string and electronic bridge leads to a rendition of the march from ''The Motion Picture''. According to Jeff Bond, Goldsmith's use of ''The Motion Picture''s march led to some confusion among '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' fans, as they were unfamiliar with the music's origins and believed that Goldsmith was stealing the theme to ''The Next Generation'', which was itself ''The Motion Picture'' march. Another theme from ''The Motion Picture'' that makes a return appearance is the Klingon theme from the 1979 film's opening scene. Here, the theme is treated in what Bond termed a "Prokofiev-like style as opposed to the avant-garde counterpoint" as seen in ''The Motion Picture''. Goldsmith also added a crying ram's horn. The breadth of ''The Final Frontier''s locations led Goldsmith to eschew the two-themed approach of ''The Motion Picture'' in favor of
leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
s, recurring music used for locations and characters. Sybok is introduced with a synthesized motif in the opening scene of the film, while when Kirk and Spock discuss him en route to Nimbus III it is rendered in a more mysterious fashion. The motif also appears in the action cue as Kirk and company land on Nimbus III and try to free the hostages. When Sybok boards the ''Enterprise'', a new four-note motif played by low brass highlights the character's obsession. The Sybok theme from then on is used in either a benevolent sense or a more percussive, dark rendition. Arriving at Sha-ka-ree, the planet's five-note theme bears resemblance to Goldsmith's unicorn theme from ''Legend''; "...the two melodies represent very similar ideas: lost innocence and the tragic impossibility of recapturing paradise," writes Bond. The music features cellos conveying a pious quality, while the appearance of "God" begins with string glissandos but turns to a dark rendition of Sybok's theme as its true nature is exposed. As the creature attacks Kirk, Spock and McCoy, the more aggressive Sybok theme takes on an attacking rhythm. When Spock appeals to the Klingons for help, the theme takes on a sensitive character before returning to a powerful sequence as the ship destroys the god-creature.


''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (1991)

Director Nicholas Meyer's original plan for the score of ''
The Undiscovered Country The Undiscovered Country may refer to *'' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' * ''The Undiscovered Country ''(album), an album by Destiny inspired by the film {{DEFAULTSORT:Undiscovered Country, The ...
'' was to adapt Gustav Holst's orchestral suite ''
The Planets ''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is name ...
''. The plan proved unfeasibly expensive, so Meyer began listening to demo tapes submitted by composers. Meyer described most of the demos as generic "movie music", but was intrigued by one tape by a young composer named Cliff Eidelman. Eidelman, then 26, had made a career in composing for ballets, television, and film, but despite work on fourteen features, no film had been the hit needed to propel Eidelman to greater fame. In conversations with Eidelman, Meyer mentioned that since the marches that accompanied the main titles for other ''Star Trek'' films were so good, he had no desire to compete with them by composing a bombastic opening. He also felt that since the film was darker than its predecessors, it demanded something different musically as a result. He mentioned the opening to
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's '' The Firebird'' as similar to the foreboding sound he wanted. Two days later Eidelman produced a tape of his idea for the main theme, played on a synthesizer. Meyer was impressed by the speed of the work and the close fit to his vision. Meyer approached producer Steven Charles-Jaffe with Eidelman's CD, which reminded Jaffe of
Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
; Eidelman was given the task of composing the score.Special Features, "Six Stories from Star Trek VI". Eidelman's previous project had been creating a compilation of music from the past five ''Star Trek'' films, and he consciously avoided taking inspiration from those scores. " he compilationshowed me what to stay away from, because I couldn't do James Horner omposer for ''The Wrath of Khan'' and ''The Search for Spock''as well as James Horner," he said.Schweiger, 9. Since he was hired early on in production, Eidelman had an unusually long time to develop his ideas, and he was able to visit the sets during filming. While the film was in early production Eidelman worked on electronic drafts of the final score, to placate executives who were unsure about using a relatively unknown composer. Eidelman stated that he finds science fiction the most interesting and exciting genre to compose for, and that Meyer told him to treat the film as a fresh start, rather than drawing on old ''Star Trek'' themes. Eidelman wanted the music to aid the visuals; for Rura Penthe, he strove to create an atmosphere that reflected the alien and dangerous setting, introducing exotic instruments for color. Besides using percussion from around the world, Eidelman treated the choir as percussion, with the Klingon language translation for "
to be, or not to be "To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy given by Prince Hamlet in the so-called "nunnery scene" of William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Act 3, Scene 1. In the speech, Hamlet contemplates death and suicide, weighing the pa ...
" ("''taH pagh, taHbe''") being repeated in the background. Spock's theme was designed to be an ethereal counterpart to the motif for Kirk and the ''Enterprise'', aimed at capturing "the emotional gleam in the captain's eye".Schweiger, 10. Kirk's internal dilemma about what the future holds was echoed in the main theme: "It's Kirk taking control one last time and as he looks out into the stars he has the spark again ..But there's an unresolved note, because it's very important that he doesn't trust the Klingons. He doesn't want to go on this trip even though the spark is there that overtook him."Altman, 46. For the climactic battle, Eidelman starts the music quietly, building the intensity as the battle progresses.


''The Next Generation''


''Star Trek Generations'' (1994)

Dennis McCarthy, a composer who had worked on ''
The Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'', was given the task of composing for '' Star Trek Generations''. Critic Jeff Bond wrote that while McCarthy's score was "tasked with straddling the styles of both series", it also offered the opportunity for the composer to produce stronger dramatic writing. His opening music was an ethereal choral piece that plays while a floating champagne bottle tumbles through space. For the action scenes with the ''Enterprise''-B, McCarthy used low brass chords and touches. Kirk was given a brass motif accented by snare drums (a touch verboten during ''The Next Generation''), while the scene ends with a dissonant note as Scott and Chekov discover Kirk has been blown into space. McCarthy expanded his brassy style for the film's action sequences, such as the battle over Veridian III and the crash-landing of the ''Enterprise''. For Picard's trip to the Nexus, more choral music and synthesizers accompany Picard's discovery of his family. The film's only distinct theme, a broad fanfare, first plays when Picard and Kirk meet. The theme blends McCarthy's theme for Picard from ''The Next Generation''s first season, notes from the theme for ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...
'', and
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
's classic ''Star Trek'' fanfare.


''Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996)

Film composer
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
scored ''
First Contact First contact may refer to: *First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch *First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another ...
'', his third ''Star Trek'' feature. Goldsmith wrote a sweeping main title which begins with
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
's classic ''Star Trek'' fanfare. Instead of composing a menacing theme to underscore the Borg, Goldsmith wrote a pastoral theme linked to humanity's hopeful first contact. The theme uses a four-note motif used in Goldsmith's '' Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'' score, which is used in ''First Contact'' as a friendship theme and general thematic link. A menacing march with touches of synthesizers was used to represent the Borg. In addition to composing new music, Goldsmith used music from his previous ''Star Trek'' scores, including his theme from ''The Motion Picture''.Norman. The Klingon theme from the same film is used to represent Worf. Because of delays with Paramount's '' The Ghost and the Darkness'', the already-short four-week production schedule was cut to just three weeks. While Berman was concerned about the move, Goldsmith hired his son, Joel, to assist. The young composer provided additional music for the film, writing three cues based on his father's motifsLarson. and a total of 22 minutes of music. Joel used variations of his father's Borg music and the Klingon theme as Worf fights hand-to-hand (Joel said that he and his father decided to use the theme for Worf separately). When the Borg invade sickbay and the medical hologram distracts them, Joel wrote what critic Jeff Bond termed "almost Coplandesque" material of tuning strings and clarinet, but the cue was unused. While Joel composed many of the film's action cues, his father contributed to the spacewalk and ''Phoenix'' flight sequences. During the fight on the deflector dish, Goldsmith used low-register electronics punctuated by stabs of violent, dissonant strings. In a break with ''Star Trek'' film tradition, the soundtrack incorporated two licensed songs:
Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...
's "Ooby Dooby" and Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride".
GNP Crescendo The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...
president Neil Norman explained that the decision to include the tracks was controversial, but said that "Frakes did the most amazing job of integrating those songs into the story that we had to use them". GNP released the ''First Contact'' soundtrack on December 2, 1996. The album contained 51 minutes of music, with 35 minutes of Jerry Goldsmith's score, 10 minutes of additional music by Joel Goldsmith, "Ooby Dooby" and "Magic Carpet Ride". The compact disc shipped with
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
features only accessible if played on a personal computer, including interviews with Berman, Frakes, and Goldsmith.


''Star Trek: Insurrection'' (1998)

'' Insurrection'' was composer
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
's fourth film score for the franchise. Goldsmith continued using the march and Klingon themes he crafted for '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' in 1979, with adding new themes and variations. ''Insurrection'' opens with
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
's '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' fanfare, also introducing a six-note motif used in many of the film's action sequences. The Ba'ku are scored with a pastoral theme, repeating harps, string sections, and a woodwind solo. The Ba'ku's ability to slow time uses a variation of this music. Goldsmith approached starship sequences with quick bursts of brass music. While observers are watching the Ba'ku unseen, Goldsmith employed a "spying theme". Composed of a piano, timpani percussion, and brass, the theme builds until interrupted by the action theme as Data opens fire. Goldsmith did not write a motif for the Son'a, choosing to score the action sequence without designating the Son'a as an antagonist (suggesting the film's revelation that the Son'a and Ba'ku are related.) The film's climax is scored with the active material, balanced by "sense of wonder" music similar to cues from ''The Motion Picture''.


''Star Trek: Nemesis'' (2002)

The music to ''
Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...
'' was the final ''Star Trek'' score and penultimate film score composed and conducted by
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
before his death in 2004 (not including his music for the 2003 film ''
Timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...
'', which was rejected due to a complicated post-production process). The score opens with
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
's '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' fanfare, but quickly transitions into a much darker theme to accompany the conflict between the Reman and Romulan empires. Goldsmith also composed a new 5-note theme to accompany the character Shinzon and the ''Scimitar'', which is manipulated throughout the score to reflect the multiple dimensions of the character. Goldsmith also incorporated several zipping, swooshing synthesizers into the conventional orchestra to illustrate the suspenseful and horrific elements of the story. The score is book-ended with Goldsmith's theme from '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', following a brief excerpt from the popular 1929 song " Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin.


Reboot cast


''Star Trek'' (2009)

Michael Giacchino, Abrams' most frequent collaborator, composed the music for ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
''. He kept the original theme by
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
for the end credits, which Abrams said symbolized the momentum of the crew coming together. Giacchino admitted personal pressure in scoring the film, as "I grew up listening to all of that great
rek REK may refer to: * Rek people, of South Sudan * Rek language * Rek, a Cambodian board game * Vitold Rek (born 1955), Polish musician * Rek or Reg, Iran, Khusf County, South Khorasan Province * Rek or Rig-e Bala Rig-e Bala ( fa, ريگ با ...
music, and that's part of what inspired me to do what I'm doing ..You just go in scared. You just hope you do your best. It's one of those things where the film will tell me what to do." Scoring took place at the Sony Scoring Stage with a 107-piece orchestra and 40-person choir. An erhu, performed b
Karen Han
was used for the Vulcan themes. A distorted recording was used for the Romulans. Varèse Sarabande, the record label responsible for releasing albums of Giacchino's previous scores for ''
Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...
'', ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', '' Mission: Impossible III'', and '' Speed Racer'', released the soundtrack for the film on May 5.


''Star Trek Into Darkness'' (2013)

Before the beginning of principal photography, Michael Giacchino announced that he would compose the score to '' Star Trek Into Darkness''. Just as with the previous installment, Giacchino kept the original theme by
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
for the end credits, allowing for his newer themes for the various young members of ''Enterprise'' to evolve.


''Star Trek Beyond'' (2016)

As with the previous two films, Michael Giacchino composed the score to '' Star Trek Beyond''.


Television soundtracks overview


Special instruments

;Real world *
Blaster Beam The blaster beam is a concept electric musical instrument consisting of a 12 to long metal beam strung with numerous tensed wires under which are mounted electric guitar pickups which can be moved to alter the sound produced. The instrument is ...
;Within the show *
Ressikan flute "The Inner Light" is the 125th episode overall and the 25th and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The episode was written by freelance writer Morgan Ge ...


Parodies

* "
Star Trekkin' "Star Trekkin' " is a song by British novelty band the Firm. It parodies the first television series of ''Star Trek'', and prominently features comical voice caricatures of the original ''Trek'' characters, provided by members of the band, ...
" * " Banned from Argo"


Concert tours

* Star Trek: The Music * Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage


See also

* List of ''Star Trek'' production staff *
William Shatner's musical career William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the '' Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpri ...
* Leonard Nimoy discography


References


External links


Composers
at Memory Alpha, a ''Star Trek'' wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Star Trek Lists of composers
composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Classical music, Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. E ...