Actor John de Lancie first brought the character “Q” to life on the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, and over the next 39 years, de Lancie would reprise the character numerous times over the show and subsequent series. “I think Gene (Rodenberry) created a character that has touched a lot of people,” de Lancie told CTV News. Soon that character will get a chance to touch even more fans. De Lancie is bringing the character back to life once again, this time here in Winnipeg. de Lancie is reprising his character for a special collaboration with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. It’s called “60 Years of Star Trek & Beyond.” The WSO will be performing some of the iconic music from the now 60-year-old series. And de Lancie says “Q” will be up to his old tricks again, putting humanity back on trial. “I think Star Trek people will really enjoy this,” de Lancie said. “I took what I considered to be the best of what a Star Trek episode should be like. It should be amusing. It should be provocative. It should be a little edgy. And we are travelling through some of the great music that’s been written for Star Trek.” Thursday’s concert at Winnipeg’s Centennial Concert Hall includes some new music composed for this performance. WSO composer Nick DiBerardino has crafted new orchestral music, including a song inspired by the classic Next Generation episode, “Darmok.” “Famously, it’s one where these two species cannot understand one another,” DiBerardino told CTV News. “And when I listened to the alien language in that episode, I was really fascinated by the experience of trying to understand. It sounds like Darmok and Jalad on the ocean. You think I almost understand that, but not quite. And so, I was thinking about how I could represent that musically, which I did by taking bits of musical language and kind of bending them just beyond what I thought would sound familiar.” Audiences will also hear plenty of familiar and iconic music from across the 60 years of this series. The one night only show -- warps into the Centennial Concert Hall Thursday October 15th. Tickets are available through the WSO’s website.
