Over a year ago now it was announced that the 2009 Star Trek movie would be screened at the Royal Albert Hall with a live orchestra and I immediately booked tickets with some birthday money I had received. This was not something I was going to miss! I’m a huge Trek fan and particularly love nuTrek because they’re the only series that has been released since I became a fan.

My friend Susie and I took our perfect seats just 6 rows from the front of the stage and waited as the entirety of the Royal Albert Hall filled up behind us. (I’m almost certain there wasn’t a spare seat in the house – just look at that picture at the top of the post!)

We were incredibly lucky that when it was time to start not only was composer Michael Giacchino there but Simon Pegg (who plays Scotty in the latest incarnation) and legend director JJ Abrahms (in London shooting a sequel to a little known movie series called Star Wars) were also in attendance to help introduce the movie they had all worked so hard to bring to the big screen.

But we weren’t there for the celebrities, we were there for the music and right from the first few bars I knew that it had been worth every penny for the experience. By the time the opening credits rolled I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms, it was incredible. I rarely notice just how much of a difference the score makes to a movie but here it was totally evident.

Having an interval mid-way through a movie was a novelty and we took the opportunity to grab an absolutely stonkingly delicious glass of champagne. Before we knew it it was time for the second half which was just as wonderful assisted by the fact that the composer came back on stage wearing a gold command shirt!

I found myself watching the orchestra and the conductor at various points throughout rather than concentrating on the movie itself (I’ve seen it plenty of times) and I found it totally fascinating. The conductor had a special screen that cued him on when they needed to play overlayed on top of the film. It was also great that the film came with subtitles as it was difficult to hear over the music at times – not that this is an issue for those of us who have seen it more times that they can count!

Naturally there was a standing ovation, the entire thing was perfect and clearly had an effect on the audience’s emotions. We were also really luck to be treated to a rendition from Michael Giacchino’s favourite childhood movie: Planet of the apes. It was the perfect evening and I am so glad that I went even if it did cost me a small fortune!