Armin Shimerman, who played Quark in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," is taking piano lessons.
It's his way of making up for lost time; one of the biggest disappointments in his prolifically creative life — he's a veteran actor of stage and screen, has published four science-fiction novels and is working on his first mystery book, "The Toad-eater" — is that he did not pursue music.
"But I've always listened to classical music," he said during a recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home. "That's my favorite music, and certainly (Aaron) Copland and (Virgil) Thomson are phenomenal American composers."
He is speaking of the composers he will bring to life Sunday in Chamber Music Plus Southwest's "Copland and Me," the latest "Rhythms of Life" creation of CMPS founder and cellist Harry Clark. "Rhythms of Life" is CMPS' series of one-actor musical portraits of music-makers.
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"Copland and Me" sheds light on the great American composer Copland as viewed through the lens of the critic and composer Thomson. Clark, who wrote the piece, will perform music from both composers with his wife, pianist Sanda Schuldman.
Shimerman has been preparing for the dramatic reading role for several weeks and has come to learn much about Thomson. He admitted he knew little about the man going in beyond that he was a prolific 20th-century composer and was regarded as a brilliant music critic.
Shimerman said he has since learned that Thomson liked to talk about Thomson, which Clark captures brilliantly in the work. But between educating the audience about himself, the character also sheds light on Copland, who dramatically changed the American musical landscape in an era that also introduced us to Rodgers and Hammerstein and dozens of composers whose works transcended the concert stage to the emerging age of motion pictures.
Shimerman, who has performed in several similar productions written by his "Star Trek" colleague John de Lancie, said "Copland and Me" takes the audience beyond the composer's music and gives it "a better appreciation of who the composer was and how this particular music came about and what are the influences."
"And in a sense, a very small sense, (you appreciate) what to listen for when you are listening to the music," added Shimerman, 59, who has appeared in several Broadway musicals, including Joseph Papp's acclaimed production of "Threepenny Opera" and Richard Rodgers' final musical, "I Remember Mama."
For Shimerman, though, the highlight of Sunday's performance will be sitting on stage with Clark and Schuldman.
"I must say, there's nothing more exciting than sitting with a bunch of musicians playing for an audience," he explained. "No matter how good your seat is in the music hall, it's never as good as sitting right with the musicians. It really doesn't make much difference how much they pay me. It's a glorious experience."
Preview
• "Copland and Me"
• Presented by: Chamber Music Plus Southwest.
• Written by: Harry Clark.
• Starring: Armin Shimerman.
• Directed by: Howard Allen.
• Musicians: Cellist Harry Clark and pianist Sanda Schuldman.
• When: 3 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway.
• Tickets: $35 through Chamber Music Plus, 400-5439.
