‘Ghostbusters in Concert’: An Interview With Peter Bernstein

On September 18, the Fall 2026 Ghostbusters in Concert tour kicks off at the historic Bing Crosby Theater in Spokane, Washington. The original Ghostbusters Film with Live Orchestra concert premiered in October 2018 and was produced by Schirmer Theatrical. It was presented by symphonies and concert halls across the globe, including London’s Royal Albert Hall, Wolf Trap with the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. This new tour continues to pair the beloved classic film with a live orchestra, only this time in a more intimate setting, creating a powerful new viewing and listening experience for fans.

Peter Bernstein on Adapting ‘Ghostbusters’ Into a Live Concert Experience

Peter Bernstein is the son of Academy Award-winning film composer Elmer Bernstein. From 1974 to 1986, he orchestrated all or part of almost all of his father’s scores, including Animal House, Trading Places, portions of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, and, of course, Ghostbusters. To bring the Ghostbuster’s score to life for its original live-to-picture symphonic performance, then adapting it for a touring ensemble required a meticulous reconstruction and devotion to authenticity that only Peter could achieve. 

How did this all get started? How did the project come about?
I think it started with Ghost Corps. [Ghost Corps is an American production company and a division of Columbia Pictures (a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment) that was founded in March 2015 to oversee and expand the Ghostbusters media franchise.] This is going back about 10 years when live-to-picture scores were emerging as a real thing. Eventually, they found me. I put them in touch with Schirmer Theatrical, who handled all the stuff that I can’t, which is pretty much everything but the music and the conducting — and that’s a lot — and we put it together. It was a bit of a journey, but it wasn’t too bad.

What was the process for taking the score from the film and ensuring it works in a live setting? How do you do that?
Well, there are a couple of core questions in there. First of all, “Was the original score orchestral?” In this case, it was. The next question is, “Was the original score pre- or post-digital age?” Because now, if I wanted to take a modern orchestral film score, I’d have all the resources at my fingertips. They’d be recorded on maybe 40 tracks of Pro Tools. All digital. I’d also have complete updated scores because everything is previewed before the recording. So very little is changed in a recording nowadays.

In those days, 1984, everything was on paper. When we got to the scoring stage, Ivan [Reitman] had heard very little [of the score] — this was the seventh or eighth time my father and he had worked together, so there was a lot of trust in the process there. But still, this was a big, tentpole movie and there was a lot of pressure, so a lot of changes were made to the score in the recording process. None of which were notated. And then further changes were made when the film was mixed and the score was edited. So it was my job to take the original paper, compare it to what was on the screen, and make that work. 

That sounds like a lot of work.
There’s a lot of archaeology involved. And edits that work in a film behind dialogue as well as loud audio effects don’t necessarily work in an orchestra in the theater. So there was that to deal with as well. And then some of it, of course, is meeting modern expectations. I added music in several places, maybe four at this point. 

Why did you need to add more music?
For various reasons,  but mostly because it’s a symphony orchestra concert and you want to hear music. Ivan came to a concert in San Francisco. When we went out to dinner afterwards, I asked him, “Ivan, what do you think of the music I added?” And his response was, “I didn’t notice.”

That’s a good response!
Exactly the response you want. 

What about the touring show? There are obvious challenges. You can’t tour with a full symphony. What is the ensemble like for that version?
Oh, it’s much smaller. Much, much smaller. But there is a lot of support from the keyboard — something you couldn’t do in the 80s. Think of a band playing with backing tracks. It’s kind of an orchestral version of that. 

What are the key instruments? The ones you had to have for the tour?
Anybody playing a melody. But the original score is a fully orchestrated score, so everyone is participating. It’s not like it features one instrument. So it was a matter of rebuilding that sound in a different way. It was a very interesting, work-intensive assignment. Fun, actually.

What’s the benefit to seeing the movie with a live score?
You feel the power of the score live in a way that you can’t on film. The power of a live orchestra can’t be duplicated in a recording. 

Do you have the final say in the score?
Yes. I mean, who else is there? 

Does that put more pressure on you or less?
Both actually. There is nobody else who knows this score like I do. That’s easy. The only pressure for me is to get it done as well as possible within the allotted time.

How comfortable are you with technology?
As a composer, I was one of the very first people to do television out of a home studio. This is going back to the late 80s. So I’ve always been comfortable in that arena. I had a lot of colleagues from those early days who didn’t make that transition. But technologically, it was not intimidating. It’s just something you have to learn. And it’s learnable. For this particular assignment, you have to have knowledge in several areas to do it mostly on your own. You have to be comfortable with the tech. You have to be comfortable with the orchestra. And you have to be comfortable with re-orchestrating the original score to work with the orchestra that you have. 

I can’t imagine any new composer working without technology. Especially when it comes to using samples to hear their compositions while they are still working on them.
Let me stop you right there. Once you have enough experience, you hear the parts, and you understand what it’s going to sound like. That’s an experience thing. I once flew to Europe with my dad. We had these seats in the upper deck of a 747 where there was a big shelf so we could lay out our scores and work. I was going to conduct a major score for the first time, and I was nervous. So I was practicing this score during the flight over the Atlantic. Meanwhile, he’s there with sketch paper, writing a score. No keyboard. None of that. He’s just writing it. When we were getting off the plane, I asked, “How hard is that? How are you doing that?” His response to me was, “Just wait another 30 years. You’ll be fine.” Now, it turned out that 5 years later, I was doing it on a computer — we didn’t foresee that — but that was his response, and he was right. 

Is there anything you’d like to bring up in closing?
Thank you for asking. Only that, I’m very happy that this full Ghostbusters experience can be presented in smaller venues. This is meant for performing arts centers, not symphonic halls. And there are probably 10 times more performing arts centers. So I’m happy that this can be presented in this way. And I’m hopeful that other projects can too. Because in this day, live music is so important, simply because it is live and there is a human element to it. And that’s my favorite part of this project.

Complete list of ‘Ghostbusters in Concert’ Fall 2026 Tour Dates

Fri., Sept. 18, 2026	Spokane, WA	The Bing Crosby Theater
Sat., Sept. 19, 2026	Seattle, WA	The Paramount Theatre
Sun., Sept. 20, 2026	Eugene, OR	Silva Concert Hall at Hult Center
Wed., Sept. 23, 2026	Davis, CA	Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
Thur., Sept. 24, 2026	Cerritos, CA	Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
Fri., Sept. 25, 2026	San Diego, CA	Epstein Family Amphitheater
Sat., Sept. 26, 2026	Las Vegas, NV	The Smith Center – Reynolds Hall
Sun., Sept. 27, 2026	Salt Lake City, UT	Abravanel Hall
Wed., Sept. 30, 2026	Mesa, AZ	Mesa Arts Center
Thur., Oct. 1, 2026	Tucson, AZ	Fox Tucson Theatre
Fri., Oct. 2, 2026	Albuquerque, NM	Popejoy Hall
Sat., Oct. 3, 2026	Parker, CO	Pace Center
Sun., Oct. 4, 2026	Fort Collins, CO	The Lincoln Center
Tue., Oct. 6, 2026	Omaha, NE	Orpheum Theater
Wed., Oct. 7, 2026	Skokie, IL	North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Thur., Oct. 8, 2026	Skokie, IL	North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Fri., Oct. 9, 2026	Milwaukee, WI	Marcus Performing Arts Center
Sat., Oct. 10, 2026	Fort Wayne, IN	Foellinger Theatre
Sun., Oct. 11, 2026	Indianapolis, IN	Clowes Memorial Hall
Tue., Oct. 13, 2026	Saginaw, MI	Temple Theatre
Wed., Oct. 14, 2026	Cincinnati, OH	Taft Theatre
Thur., Oct. 15, 2026	Northfield, OH	MGM Northfield Park
Fri., Oct. 16, 2026	Buffalo, NY	University at Buffalo Center for the Arts
Sat., Oct. 17, 2026	New York, NY	United Palace
Sun., Oct. 18, 2026	Morristown, NJ	Mayo Performing Arts Center
Mon., Oct. 19, 2026	Glenside, PA	Keswick Theatre
Tue., Oct. 20, 2026	Brookville, NY	Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
Wed., Oct. 21, 2026	Wallingford, CT	Toyota Presents The Oakdale Theater
Fri., Oct. 23, 2026	Roanoke Rapids, NC	Weldon Mills Theatre
Sat., Oct. 24, 2026	Wilmington, NC	The Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College
Sun., Oct. 25, 2026	Charleston, SC	Charleston Gaillard Center
Tue., Oct. 27, 2026	Greenville, SC	Peace Concert Hall – Peace Center
Wed., Oct. 28, 2026	Jacksonville, FL	Florida Theatre
Thur., Oct. 29, 2026	Sarasota, FL	Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Fri., Oct. 30, 2026	Miami, FL	Knight Concert Hall
Sat., Oct. 31, 2026	Clearwater, FL	Ruth Eckerd Hall

Where to Buy ‘Ghostbusters in Concert’ Tickets

Ghostbusters in Concert is on tour from now through Halloween. If you want to see the classic film brought to vivid life with live music in an intimate performing arts center environment, tickets for all dates are available at the Ghostbusters in Concert website.

Peter Bernstein: Official Website • Instagram • Facebook • IMDb

Featured photo: Andy Paradise.