PSO Sci-Fi Spectacular Features George Takei

For Immediate Release
July 30, 2014

STAR TREK STAR GEORGE TAKEI TO HOST PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA’S ‘SCI-FI SPECTACULAR’ PNC POPS CONCERT IN NOVEMBER

PITTSBURGH – Oh myyyyyyyyy….the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announced today that George Takei, who first came to fame as Mr. Sulu on the original “Star Trek” television show, will host the PNC Pops concert “Sci-Fi Spectacular” on Nov. 14-16 at Heinz Hall.

Takei — who is an actor, social justice activist, social media mega-power, star of the Broadway musical “Allegiance,” host of the AARP-produced YouTube series “Takei’s Take” and subject of the documentary “To Be Takei” — will host and narrate an out-of-this-world concert experience. Led by Jack Everly, “Sci-Fi Spectacular” features music from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Star Trek,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and much more!

Widely recognized for his vocal talents, Takei has been a guest narrator with numerous symphony orchestras. He narrated "A Survivor from Warsaw" with the Nashville Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero in February 2013 and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Philip Mann in 2012. He narrated "Sci-Fi Spectacular" with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in January 2014, North Carolina Symphony in June 2013, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in June 2012, Toronto Symphony Orchestra in May 2012, Detroit Symphony Orchestra in March 2012, Kansas City Symphony in January 2012, Naples (Florida) Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2011, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in July 2010, Cleveland Orchestra in August 2009, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra in April 2009, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in January 2009, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in January 2008 and February 2014, and Seattle Symphony in September 2007. Takei narrated "Look to the Future" with the San Francisco Symphony in July 2009. In 2008, he hosted "To Boldly Go" with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Sarah Hatsuko Hicks. In November 2004, Takei narrated Copeland's “Lincoln Portrait” with the Honolulu Symphony conducted by Samuel Wong. He has narrated Johan de Meij's “Symphony No. 1: The Lord of the Rings” with the Springfield, Mass., Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kevin Rhodes as well as with the Long Island Philharmonic, Denver Symphony Orchestra, Orange County California Wind Orchestra and the Imperial Symphony Orchestra of Lakeland, Fla., all conducted by David Warble.

Single tickets for the 2014-2015 PNC Pops season go on sale on Aug. 25 and season tickets to the seven-concert series are available now. Tickets can be purchased at pittsburghsymphony.org or 412-392-4900.
The Pittsburgh Symphony would like to recognize and thank PNC for its 2014-2015 title sponsorship of PNC Pops. Fairmont Pittsburgh is the official hotel of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

With a career spanning five decades, George Takei is known around the world for his founding role in the acclaimed television series “Star Trek,” in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise. Takei starred in three seasons of Star Trek and later reprised his iconic role in six movies. “To Be Takei,” a Jennifer M. Kroot documentary on the life and career of Takei, premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2014 and will have a theatrical release on Aug. 22, 2014. “Takei’s Take,” produced by AARP, is a new YouTube series where Takei explores the world of technology, trends, current events and pop culture. Mashable.com in 2012 reported Takei is the #1 most-influential person on Facebook, currently with more than 7.3 million likes. Takei has more than 1.2 million followers on Twitter. Takei authored “Lions and Tigers and Bears: The Internet Strikes Back” and “Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet,” released in e-book and paperback in 2012, and it ranked #10 on the New York Times E-book nonfiction list. Takei and Tony Award winner Lea Salonga are developing "Allegiance – A New American Musical.” The musical is an epic story of love, family and heroism during the Japanese American internment. Allegiance's world premiere at the Old Globe theatre in San Diego in 2012 will be followed by a Broadway run. In addition to a busy acting career, Takei regularly appears on Howard Stern's Sirius XM satellite radio show. Takei has brought his voiceover talent to hundreds of characters in film, television, video games and commercials during his prolific career. Takei, a Japanese American who from age 4 to 8 was unjustly interned in two U.S. internment camps during World War II, is an outspoken supporter of human right issues and community activist. He is chairman emeritus and a trustee of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. The openly gay Takei has served as the spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign "Coming Out Project," and was cultural affairs chairman of the Japanese American Citizens League.  He was appointed to the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission by former President Clinton and the government of Japan awarded Takei the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, for his contribution to U.S.-Japanese relations. In 2007, Asteroid 7307 Takei, located between Mars and Jupiter, was named in the performer's honor in appreciation for his social work. Takei lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Brad Takei.

Editors Please Note:

Friday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 16, 2:30 p.m.

HEINZ HALL
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
PNC POPS: SCI-FI SPECTACULAR
JACK EVERLY, conductor
GEORGE TAKEI, host
KRISTEN PLUMLEY, vocalist

###

Contact: Louise Sciannameo, Vice President for Communications and External Relations
Phone: 412.392.4866 | email: lsciannameo@pittsburghsymphony.org
Contact: Joyce DeFrancesco, Director of Media Relations
Phone: 412.392.4827 | email: jdefrancesco@pittsburghsymphony.org
Twitter: @pghsymphony |Facebook: facebook.com/PittsburghSymphonyOrchestra

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Shatner's World: We Just Live In It at the Benedum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: November 1, 2012
Contact: Diana Roth, (412) 471-8717, roth@trustarts.org

William Shatner, Thursday, November 29, 2012, Benedum Center, 7:30 p.m.
Shatner's World: We Just Live In It

Pittsburgh, PA:  Iconic and Emmy Award winning actor William Shatner will be performing at the Benedum Center on Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 7:30 pm.  William Shatner’s unique life has been filled with many ups and downs which he describes in his new show, Shatner’s World: We Just Live In It. In his show he describes his life growing up in Montreal and reflects on his many acting roles using an assortment of photos and video clips. He tells many memorable stories and talks a great deal about the affect his role in Star Trek had on his life and career. The audience will learn about his love of horses, his philanthropy, his TV shows, his strange encounter with the famous sign language speaking gorilla Koko, and his collaboration with Ben Folds. This 100 minute set allows Shatner to boldly tell his story and reflect on his long, eventful life.

Shatner’s World has been described as a, “chatty, digressive, and often amusing tour of his [Shatner’s] unusual acting career,” by the New York Times, “a fun evening of personal reminiscence, gossip, video clips and old-fashioned humor,” by AM New York and “equal parts endearing and funny - a mixture of two worlds, really: every day and rarefied,” by The Philadelphia Enquirer. Shatner himself has been praised as, “the most confident of performers,” by The Recordand “a personality of galactic proportions,” by the New York Post. Shatner’s humor and ability to poke fun at himself, make this show a must-see memoir of a Hollywood veteran’s life.

For information and tickets ($43.00 - $185.00): visit www.Trustarts.org, call (412) 456-6666, or in person: Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue. To purchase 10 or more tickets at discounted rates, please call (412) 471-6930. The performance is a part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Canadian actor William Shatner is famously known for originating the role of Caption Kirk in the television series Star Trek from 1966 to 1969.  He continued to play Kirk in Star Trek: The Animated Series from 1973 to 1974, and in seven of the subsequent Star Trek feature films from 1979 to 1994.  He also starred as a police officer in the title role on T.J. Hooker and went onto portray the eccentric lawyer Denny Crane in The Practice and its spin-off Boston Legal.  The role of Denny Crane led to two Emmy awards in 2004 and 2005 and a Golden Globe award in 2005, along with Emmy nominations in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 for his work.  Beyond those characters Shatner has played numerous other movie, television, and Broadway roles, making him one of the most prolific actors of his time.

Shatner also has developed many other talents and hobbies besides acting.  He has extensive experience directing and producing, and directed numerous episodes of T.J. Hooker and the feature film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.  He also hosted his own show, Rescue 911 (1989-1996), which won a People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Dramatic Series.   He enjoyed success as an author writing a series of books chronicling his experiences playing Captain Kirk and being a part of Star Trek, and has co-written several novels set in the Star Trek universe. He has also authored a series of science fiction novels called TekWar that were adapted for television. In addition, he is a musician and has made three albums; The Transformed Man (1968),Has Been (2004), and Seeking Major Tom (2011).

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the cultural and economic development of Pittsburgh’s 14-block Cultural District through public and private support.  The Trust presents and encourages diverse performing and visual arts programs within the District, and is an impetus for additional development in downtown Pittsburgh.

Photo Credits:  Joan Marcus
###

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh