Peter M. Bernstein: Ghostbusters, Elmer Bernstein, and the Art of Film Music
There are certain film scores that become so closely associated with the movies they accompany that it’s hard to imagine one without the other. Elmer Bernstein’s music for Ghostbusters is one of those scores: playful, eerie, sophisticated, and somehow able to take the supernatural seriously without ever forgetting that the film is a comedy.
My guest on this episode has a particularly unique connection to that music. Peter M. Bernstein is a composer, orchestrator, arranger, and the son of legendary film composer, Elmer Bernstein. He worked alongside his father on the original Ghostbusters score and has built a substantial career of his own in film and television music. Today, he is also helping bring that score back to life for Ghostbusters in Concert, where the original film is performed with a live orchestra.
We’re going to talk about Ghostbusters, of course, but also about composing, orchestration, musical inheritance, and what it means to revisit work you helped create more than four decades ago.
GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT
September 18—Spokane, WA—The Bing Crosby Theater
September 19—Seattle, WA—The Paramount Theatre
September 20—Eugene, OR—Silva Concert Hall at Hult Center
September 23—Davis, CA—Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
September 24—Cerritos, CA—Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
September 25—San Diego, CA—Epstein Family Amphitheater
September 26—Las Vegas, NV—The Smith Center - Reynolds Hall
September 27—Salt Lake City, UT—Abravanel Hall
September 30—Mesa, AZ—Mesa Arts Center
October 1—Tucson, AZ—Fox Tucson Theatre
October 2—Albuquerque, NM —Popejoy Hall
October 3—Parker, CO—Pace Center
October 6— Omaha, NE—Orpheum Theater
October 7—Skokie, IL—North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
October 8—Skokie, IL—North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
October 9—Milwaukee, WI—Marcus Performing Arts Center
October 10—Fort Wayne, IN—Foellinger Theatre
October 11—Indianapolis, IN—Clowes Memorial Hall
October 13—Saginaw, MI—Temple Theatre
October 14—Cincinnati, OH—Taft Theatre
October 15—Northfield, OH—MGM Northfield Park
October 16—Buffalo, NY—University at Buffalo Center for the Arts
October 17—New York, NY—United Palace
October 18—Morristown, NJ—Mayo Performing Arts Center
October 19—Glenside, PA—Keswick Theatre
October 20—Brookville, NY—Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
October 21—Wallingford, CT—Toyota Presents The Oakdale Theater
October 23—Roanoke Rapids, NC—Weldon Mills Theatre
October 24—Wilmington, NC—The Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College
October 25—Charleston, SC—Martha & John M. Rivers Performance Hall
October 27—Greenville, SC—VENUE TBA
October 28—Jacksonville, FL—Florida Theatre
October 29—Sarasota, FL—Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
October 30—Miami, FL—Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
October 31—Clearwater, FL—Ruth Eckerd Hall
