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On May 20, 2011, Walt Disney Pictures will release the 4th installment to the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

In this 4th installment, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), leads an expedition to the Fountain of Youth. On the way he encounters Mermaids, Zombies and the most feared Pirate, Blackbeard, as well as his Daughter, Angelica.

The music will be composed once again, by film composer Hans Zimmer. The soundtrack for the film will be released 3 days prior, on May 17, 2011.

Like on the previous 3 films, there are Additional Composers contributing music to this film. They are: Matthew Margeson, Geoff Zanelli, Guillaume Roussel, Magic Box Music’s John Sponsler and Tom Gire, and Two Steps From Hell’s Nick Phoenix and Thomas Bergersen. This is Nick Phoenix and Thomas Bergersen’ first time working on the music for the Pirates of the Caribbean films. John Sponsler and Tom Gire previously collaborated with Hans Zimmer and the other Additional Composers on both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Also joining the cast of composers for this film is the Internationally acclaimed Mexican guitar duo, Rodrigo & Gabriela. This is their first time collaborating with Academy Award Winning Composer Hans Zimmer and their first time working on the music for the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

I recently e-mailed Thomas Bergersen, Nick Phoenix, Tom Gire and John Sponsler, asking them these 5 questions:

1. What is/are your role(s) on this film?

2. How much music have you been asked to write?

3. What is it like to write music for such a big film like this and what is it like working alongside hans zimmer?

4. How did you get on board this project?

5. What style of music will you be bringing to the film?

Thomas Bergersen could not go into detail, but here is what he had to say, “I’m not doing much on this movie, Hans Zimmer has done all the new melodies etc. There won’t be any surprises musically it’s the good old Hans Zimmer sound that we all love. I’m doing about 10 minutes of music on it.”

Tom Gire and John Sponsler were unable to say anything, due to signing non-disclosure agreements.

Nick Phoenix could not be reached for comment.

I would like to thank all the composers I e-mailed for their responses and input.

You can hear samples of the music Magic Box Music did for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 on their official website: www.magicboxmusic.com