Linda Kay Smith was a chorus member that recently sang with the Boston Pops and John Williams. Theirs was the first public performance of music from Episode I. The concert will start airing on PBS stations very soon, but the Boston PBS station this Thursday. Read the following for more info. Here's Linda's original report:

I am a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, which is the official chorus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and thus also of the Boston Pops. On Wednesday night, 5/26, we sang in the world concert premiere of music from Phantom Menace. Last night the concert was repeated, with WGBH-TV taping it for broadcast on Evening at Pops in July. Both nights, the concert ended with "Duel of the Fates," which brought down the house!

There was a standing ovation for the music and for John Williams, who was, of course, conducting the concert. The surprise encore each night was the Star Wars main title, which brought the wildly cheering audience to their feet once again.

The two-hour concert will be edited to one hour for the broadcast, but of course the music from TPM will be prominently featured. The program also included the venerable vocalist Vic Damone and esteemed violinist Itzhak Perlman. A friend who attended both nights wrote the following:

"Star Wars concluded a full evening of music, mostly film music by emigres to the US from Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, such as Max Steiner and Kurt Weill."

So, what was this experience like? Well, if you found "Duel of theFates" exciting to listen to, I can assure you that standing in front of the Boston Pops Orchestra, singing KORAH, MAHTAH, KORAH, RAHTAHMAH at the top of our lungs, surrounded by and helping to make all that wonderful noise -- and with John Williams himself conducting! -- this was a moment to treasure and an experience beyond words. The only thing that could have made it cooler would have been JW conducting with a light saber. :-)

-- Linda Kay Smith

Mezzo-soprano and major Star Wars fan (saw TPM four times in the first four days, including the 12:01 am 5/19 first showing! :-) )

Linda then followed up with today's report:

From the website of WGBH-TV in Boston:

"July 29 Strangers in Paradise: Laureate Conductor John Williams, Itzhak Perlman and Vic Damone, with Barry Levinson, host EVENING AT POPS welcomes Laureate Conductor John Williams on Thursday, July 29 at 8pm (check local listings) for the final new program of the season - Strangers in Paradise. Hosted by Academy and Emmy Award-winning director/ screenwriter/producer Barry Levinson, the show focuses on the music and films of Russian and German ?migr?s who streamed into Hollywood in the 1940s and '50s. The star-studded line-up of guests includes violinist Itzhak Perlman and crooner Vic Damone. The visiting artists join the Boston Pops Orchestra to paytribute to the founding fathers of movie music: Max Steiner, Kurt Weill, VernonDuke, David Raksin, and Victor Young, performing selections from the filmscores to Laura, The Quiet Man, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Now, Voyager. Throughout the evening, host Levinson and Williams pepper the musical performances with fascinating history of the featured composers via interviews, archival photos, and film clips."

What this listing at the WGBH-TV (producers of the Boston-originated Evening at Pops program) website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pops/descjul29.html)doesn't mention is that this concert's grand finale was the WORLD PREMIERELIVE PERFORMANCE of music from The Phantom Menace! John Williams conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra in the Flag Parade (from the podrace sequence), then these forces :-) were joined on the stage by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus for the first live public performance of Duel of the Fates. The audience went wild, and they were even wilder at the encore -- the original Star Wars theme. Another contributor, "Jubal Harshaw," sent to TheForce a fine review of the occasion shortly after it occurred in late May. But I thought I'd add my perspective, since as a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, I was one of the lucky ones on the stage, singing all those weird Sanskrit words. And my perspective is: WOW!!!! If you thought the Duel of the Fates music was exciting to hear, whether on the radio, on the CD, inthe music video, or of course in the actual movie during the lightsaber battles, I can assure you that it was a fantastic experience to have that music snapping and crashing all around us as we stood in front of the orchestra, just a few feet from Maestro Williams. I felt like I could do somersaults around the stage without even using the Force! :-)

Then to actually get to sing that pulsating, driving music -- ah, words fail me, in Sanskrit or any other language. A couple days after the concert, our extremely gracious and kind composer/conductor was willing to autograph items for the chorus, as a thank-you for our participation. (*He* was thanking *us*?! :-) We were asked to limit our requests to two items, but I wrote him a very appreciative note and asked if he could manage a couple more items -- and that I would totally understand if he could not. Of course, he signed them all. :-) So I was delighted to collect my packet of goodies from our chorus manager the next day -- a personalized-autographed choral score of Duel of the Fates (we were supposed to turn in our scores, but I seem to have turned in an identical unsigned copy :-) ), an autographed Phantom Menace CD, an autographed Phantom Menace piano-vocal score, and a present for a friend -- a personalized autographed program of the Pops concerts (Strangers in Paradise was actually a two-night gig, the TV taping being done on the second night) that my friend had attended (both nights) with great delight. My friend also wrote a review, which I include here:

May 26, 1999

This evening saw the world concert premiere of music from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, performed by the Boston Pops and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, under the direction of Pops Conductor Laureate John Williams, composer of the music.

Linda Kay Smith [that's me :-) ] sang with the TFC. Star Wars concluded a full evening of music, mostly film music by emigres to the US from Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, such as Max Steiner and Kurt Weill. The program will be repeated tomorrow evening. Tomorrow's show will be videotaped, for an Evening at Pops broadcast scheduled for July 29. Concertmaster Tamara Smirnova was to be violin soloist this evening, playing the same pieces that Itzhak Perlman will play tomorrow. But, in a surprise announcement, Itzhak Perlman played the solos this evening. He was wonderful, but underutilized, playing only four short songs. Ms. Smirnova was concertmaster for the evening. Dianne Reeves and Vic Damone sang several songs each.

Finally the Boston Pops played The Flag Parade, a march that plays while the podracers are getting into position in The Phantom Menace. This number deserves comparison to Miklos Rosza's Parade of the Charioteers, from Ben Hur, which the Pops also played this evening. Your humble reporter is not up to making the comparison, however. After much loud applause for The Flag Parade, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus walked onto the stage, in front of the orchestra for once, while Maestro Williams told a bit of the story of the Sanskrit lyrics about to be sung in Duel of the Fates, "Korah, Matah, Korah, Ratamah," etc. I forget the fine details but it has to do with the dark turmoil of the mind.

When the piece ended, the room thundered. I yelled, "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar," but no one understood me or took up the cry, alas.

Two encores had been scheduled, but the Pops played only one, the Main Title music from Star Wars. Maestro Williams was obliged to return to the stage several times because of the sustained applause, but he played no more music. Camera crews from Boston TV channels 4, 5, and 7 were there to record the historic world concert premiere of Phantom Menace music, but at least two of the crews left because of breaking news about a missing kid in Quincy, I believe. [They found the child within a few hours; he had wandered off from a local store and was sleeping in some bushes.]

-- Dave McCabe [who has seen the original trilogy "probably 20 times", and Phantom Menace seven times (at least) so far, including the Paramus, NJ digital showing]

Well, you're probably wondering how you can see this concert. PBS will air it on different stations at different times in different cities. We can't help you any more then to tell you to check with your local PBS station. Good luck!