Posted by Jim Self on July 07, 2001 at 01:12:32:
In Reply to: Star Trek The Movie Soundtrack posted by still curious on July 05, 2001 at 14:26:29:
STAR TREK, The Motion Picture (Star Trek One) was done in 1979 at Fox Studios and was indeed one of the best scores
ever recorded. Jerry Goldsmith wrote the score. Tommy Johnson was principal tuba and I was second. It is one of my fondest
memories working with the amazing Tommy Johnson. We both used CC and F Tubas. Both had Mirafone 185 CCs and
I used an Alex F and Tommy (I believe) a B and S F with a Mirafone bell and/or his Double CC/F Tuba.The tubas were
featured a lot with soaring lines. There are several things that I am reminded about that movie. One was the extraordinary
horn playing of Vince DeRosa. He had several solos up to high written Eb's. Another was the use of a 15 foot long string
instrument that was struck with a hammer and amplified and altered electronically--"CLANG". In rare form Goldsmith
didn't conduct. Lionel Newman was head of music at Fox and insisted on conducting. I don't think Jerry liked it very much--
he wanted to conduct. Lionel (brother of Alfred) was a petty and foul mouthed man--on the job. The sound track album of
Star Trek, The Motion Picture is a great orchestral CD and an example of great movie score composing--and tuba writing.
It should be in everyone's collection!!
I have one other memory of that time. Shortly after those film scoring sessions the AFM went on strike against the film
producers. We lost and when we went back it was to a huge loss of work to synthesizers and the near death of
orchestral scores for television. Enough trivia!