Bill Murray, the comedian, actor and star of Groundhog Day, will be performing live with classical musicians for a tour of Australia later this year.
Murray will be performing spoken word and singing in the unique show alongside classical music performed by German-American cellist Jan Vogler and his wife, Chinese-American violinist Mira Wang, and Venezuelan-American pianist Vanessa Perez.
Renowned for his quirky, yet approachable personality, Murray's latest venture sprang from an airport security line where he struck up a conversation with Vogler over the unwieldy size of his cello and a mutual love of the American greats.
They got together and created the album New Worlds which combines classical music by Ravel, Schubert, Saint-Saens and Bach with spoken word excerpts from American writers Twain, Hemingway and Whitman, and classics from the American songbook, including Gershwin, Bernstein and Foster.
"We are from four different continents and when the continents come together, the music moves right across the peninsulas from one to the other. It's just a short journey from one continent to the other," Murray said.
* Bill Murray tour dates:
November 7 - Riverside Theatre, Perth
November 9 and 10 - Sydney Opera House
November 14 - Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington
November 16 - QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane
November 17 - Plenary at MCEC, Melbourne
Australian Associated Press
