One of the greatest musicians of Hollywood, composer and conductor Conrad Pope, will hold the baton at a concert entitled “Hollywood comes to Sofia” with the orchestra of Classic FM Radio on January 30 in Bulgaria Concert Hall in Sofia. The event is part of the cycle "The Music of America" ​​organized by Cantus Firmus and the America for Bulgaria Foundation.

Conrad Pope has contributed to the creation of over 100 film scores, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Matrix, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Hobbit, Godzilla, etc. He has worked with almost all the famous Hollywood composers.

At tomorrow’s concert in Sofia, film aficionados will be able to hear melodies from Star Wars, Jaws, ET, Harry Potter, and others.

“Bulgarian musicians are almost like having oil in the ground”, said Pope at a press conference in Sofia earlier this week. He paid quite a number of compliments to Bulgaria and Bulgarian musicians, saying we could become a leader in recording film music. "Bulgaria has so many great artists almost everywhere in the world, and every time I return here, I am amazed to find an ever-growing pool of great musicians”, the conductor said.

This is not the first time Conrad Pope works with Bulgarian musicians – he first conducted a film score in Bulgaria 15 years ago in 1999 and since then he has quite a lot to share in this respect.

What are his impressions of Bulgarian musicians and especially of his work with the members of Classic FM orchestra? What is the magic of film music and what is the effect it has on us?What are two reasons he would share with American musicians when he’s back home why they should come over and work here?

All this and more - in the attached audio file.

English: Rossitsa Petcova