Selected Articles from the
October 2001 Odyssey

Editor: Terry Hancock

• Hollywood Bowl Concert, Diane Rhodes
• Observing the Leonid Meteor Shower, Norm Cook
• A Martian Space Odyssey, NASA/JPL
• Isn't Mars Being Interesting?, NASA/STScI
• The Surf Report, Diane Rhodes

Hollywood Bowl Concert

By Diane Rhodes

Well, a Bowl full of star-themed music, anyway. The theme was science fiction movie music, the conductor was John Mauceri leading the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and OASIS board members and other enthusiastic fans filling the Hollywood Bowl. A GREAT time was had by all!

The OASIS crew met before the concert started and shared various picnic items and some fine wine, and the night was cool and clear for the concert. At intermission, it was discovered that the back row of the OASIS section would have to be renamed the ``tech-toy'' section, when various gadgets were put to good use during the lull!

An added attraction to the wonderful music was a large screen above the stage which played clips for the music being played from such science fiction hits as Planet of the Apes (1968), Aliens (1984) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1977), all scored by Jerry Goldsmith.

Clips were also played from, Star Wars: Episode 4 (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978) which were scored by John Williams, and several pieces from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Mauceri spoke about how the music was made for some of the scenes in 2001, which seemed to have been synthesized, but which were demonstrated to actually be an orchestral score. The first encore was a rousing rendition of the Cantina Theme from Star Wars and the second was a sly tip of the hat to music from Mel Brooks' SpaceBalls.

OASIS members at Hollywood Bowl. Photo courtey Dennis Whipple.

John Mauceri has been the conductor for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a number of years, and revealed another side that Friday night: he conducted the orchestra for the second half of the evening in a maroon and black Star Trek captain's uniform! He took some time for explaining scoring for science fiction films and had the orchestra demonstrate some of the odd-ball instruments used in the familiar themes, such as the ancient ``mixing-bowls'' and ``the beam'', used in Star Trek's Klingon music. It was great fun and the commentary lead this listener to speculate that Mr Mauceri was a closet fan, when his uniform seemed to fit too well to be just a costume rental! Who knows?

The next OASIS-WIDE outing will be a get-together at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, for a limited engagement of the newly digitized master of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is being rereleased by Warner Brothers, after a campaign by various space groups and other fans, including letters and petitions from Orange County Space Society and OASIS, which it is hoped helped pressure the studio to commemorate the New Millenium with the film. See, writing letters DOES work! The film will be run at limited locations around the country from Oct. 5 until the end of the year.

There will be further up-to-the-minute updated information through the OASIS-Members email list, as to date, time and get-together plans. If you are a member not on the OASIS-Members email list, you can be added by going to the OASIS Website and click on the Topica box, asking for your email address.

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 2.25.
On 20 Jan 2002, 16:29.

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