Alexander Courage
“Galaxymphony” performed by The Danish National Symphony Orchestra in June of 2017.
Composer Alexander (“Sandy”) Courage describes how he came to write the theme song for the TV series “Star Trek” and reveals how he created the “swoosh” sound effect for the Enterprise!
There are more than a few Rochester connections to the Star Trek television series, but the first can be traced to the television show’s original theme song. The composer and conductor of the music for the first season of the original Star Trek series was Alexander “Sandy” Courage, who was a 1941 graduate of the Eastman School of Music.
One might wonder if during his studies in Rochester, did he ever venture down to the shores of Lake Ontario and take in the view of the stars at night.
Over the years, Courage worked on many movie and television productions including Papillion, Superman, and Indiana Jones. He often worked with his good friends and fellow composers, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams.
Courage’s body of work is today part of the Eastman School of Music’s Sibley Music Library.
