A Minute With: composer Hans Zimmer and conductor Matt Dunkley on new tour

LONDON: From “The Lion King” to “Inception”, fans will be able to hear live versions of the much-loved works of film score composer Hans Zimmer in a new 24-city arena tour across North America this fall.

Following a European run last year, “The World of Hans Zimmer – A New Dimension” kicks off in Sunrise, Florida, on September 5 and wraps up in Vancouver on October 11.

Though Zimmer will not perform, the two-time Oscar winner is the tour’s curator and musical director and the shows will feature new arrangements of his works synchronised to film clips.

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Orchestrator and longtime Zimmer collaborator Matt Dunkley will take to the stage alongside an orchestra, soloists and others to perform the composer’s music.

In an interview with Reuters, Zimmer and Dunkley spoke about the tour and audience favourites.

Below are excerpts edited for length and clarity.

Q: What does it mean to bring this show to U.S. audiences?

Zimmer: “I really want them to come and see what an orchestra can do. That an orchestra isn’t just some old-fashioned stale thing, that they can rock out like nobody’s business.”

Dunkley: “And I think… especially as a younger generation, a lot of them are scared of… maybe going into a concert hall or an opera house because they think ‘maybe that’s not for me’. But they come and see our shows and see that… this orchestra can be really rocking out with our band… and then suddenly it becomes a thing that they’re not scared of.

And they’ve realized actually… every time they go and see a movie or play a video game, that they’re listening to this amazing sound palette that is the symphony orchestra.“

Q: Can you tell us more about the show?

Dunkley: “It’s a more… symphonic show… We still have some rocky elements… We have keyboards, we have guitar, we’ve amazing soloists as well, brilliant percussionists and drummers. But… the orchestra’s a little larger, so the feature is more of a symphonic sound rather than a kind of rock and roll show.”

Q: How did the tours come about?

Zimmer: “I didn’t want to go and do it, this was 10 years ago. And there came a day where Johnny Marr from The Smiths and (singer) Pharrell Williams… sat me down… and they gave me the big talk how… I owed it to an audience to not always hide behind a screen. And I kept saying ‘No but I’ve got stage fright…’ and all that stuff. Needless to say, they were persuasive.”

Q: Are there any audience favourites?

Zimmer: “They love ‘Gladiator’. They love ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’… ‘Dune’ is a big hit at the moment… ‘Interstellar’, ‘Inception’.”

Dunkley: “‘Lion King’, always.”

Zimmer: “Yeah, ‘Lion King’… how could I forget?”