Star Trek Memories

UPDATE: Rick got to meet another Star Trek idol at Blossom - George Takei




Richard Solis, a member of the Cleveland Orchestra’s horn section, owns up to his weakness for all things Star Trek.

Cleveland Orchestra musician Richard Solis with Leonard Nimoy at a Cleveland Orchestra performance of Beethoven 9 in Miami in January 2007. Rick’s lapel pin is the insignia of the United Federation of Planets.

When I was growing up in Las Vegas, my parents did not allow a television in the house, thinking that it would contribute to bad grades in school. Well, I fooled them! I got bad grades anyway! I remember kids in high school talking about a show called Star Trek and a character named Spock. It was all foreign to me, but when I finally got a job with The Cleveland Orchestra in 1971, I bought a TV. Just about then, the networks began showing reruns of Star Trek. My wife, who had watched every episode of the original show, got me interested. I was always a Sci-Fi freak and fell right in line watching this relatively new series. I was completely hooked.

Compared to today’s technological wizardry, the show was visually rather lame, and some of the stories were pretty silly, but the overlying concept of a future where people were treated equally and compassionately, planet ecologies were respected, and discourse was favored over war, was hugely appealing to me. I watched the reruns over and over again.

Since then, my wife and I have watched every episode of every Star Trek show and spinoff that came along, in addition to every movie that was produced. When Enterprise went off the air (many thought it was a weak show; I thought its final season was actually quite good) we felt a huge emptiness. Fortunately, there is renewed interest in the Star Trek universe, and the recent movie was great fun in addition to being a fine movie.

I’m really looking forward to working with (and hopefully meeting) George Takei. The people who took part in that wonderful universe are slowly leaving us and we should cherish every opportunity to honor them.

--Rick Solis

Guest narrator George Takei will join The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom for a Sci-Fi Spectacular on Sunday, August 16, at 7 p.m. For tickets, visit clevelandorchestra.com