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Justin Freer has been a "Star Trek" fan since he was a kid.

"I grew up with 'The Next Generation.' I was born in 1980, so I grew up with Picard and Geordi and Worf and Crusher and all those wonderful characters," he said. "And then I fell in love with the music."

He's not alone. All it takes is the eight notes of the "Trek" fanfare and tens of millions of fans around the globe know instantly that they're about to go where no man has gone before … where no one has gone before … through 725 episodes of six TV series and a dozen movies to date.

That fanfare and the original series' theme, both composed by Alexander Courage, are just the starting point for "Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage" — a two-hour concert event that plays Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus on Friday. It features music from the franchise, performed by an 85-piece orchestra in front of a 40-foot screen playing high-definition TV and movie clips.

"The concert is dedicated to transporting people through all the years of all the great music," said Freer, who conducts. "It had never been done before. Much of this music has never been heard before in live performance."

Freer and his partner at CineConcerts, Brady Beaubien, approached CBS and Paramount (which hold the rights to "Star Trek") with the idea of a concert event tied to the 50th anniversary of the franchise. (The original series premiered on Sept. 8, 1966.)

"It took about two years working with them on it," Freer said. "They're very protective, as they should be. They're the gatekeepers of 'Star Trek.' So they had to feel comfortable with us."

After coming to an agreement, Freer and Beaubien spent almost a year building the show. The challenge wasn't finding enough music, it was winnowing down the huge amount of material. About 660 of the TV episodes and all 12 films featured original music.

"Then the challenge was — how do we create a two-hour story of 50 years of 'Star Trek'?" Freer said. "We came up with the notion that it needed to be its own unique, singular, emotionally driven story."

The music — from 13 composers — is "front and center." But it's matched with visuals, including scenes from the various episodes and movies and montages.

"With the montages, the theme might be the Enterprise. Or man's exploration of space. Or close bonds in space," Freer said. "And we trace these themes across the 50 years. All set, of course, to great pieces of music."

And it's linked by narration written by Beaubien and recorded by Michael Dorn (Worf in "Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" and multiple movies).

Freer studied with composer Jerry Goldsmith — who won an Oscar for "The Omen" and was nominated for 17 others — for the last two years of Goldsmith's life. (He also won five Emmys, including one for composing the theme for "Star Trek: Voyager.")

"I enjoy everything that's onstage during the concert, but one of my favorites would be the music from the Enterprise docking sequence in 'The Motion Picture,' by Jerry Goldsmith," Freer said. "I mean, that music is a monumental masterpiece."

But it's just one small part of the performance.

"Jay Chattaway's music from ['The Next Generation' episode] 'The Inner Light' is gut-wrenching. It's so beautiful," Freer said. "David Bell wrote some really dark music. And Mark MacKenzie wrote some incredibly beautiful music.

"And then there's Alexander Courage, who wrote the main theme to start the original series off."

When the concert tour, which began in January, stops in Salt Lake City on Friday, Freer expects to see the same type of audience — diverse.

"What we've noticed in every city is just how wide the demographic is," he said. "There's everyone from the uber-fan to the casual fan. People are laughing and crying. I can hear them from the podium blowing their noses from time to time.

"So it's great to see how emotionally invested the 'Star Trek' fan is."

Twitter: @ScottDPierce —

Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage

When • Friday, April 29, at 8 p.m.

Where • Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $45-$65, available at the box office or at tickets.utah.edu