Danny Elfman has been the ears to Tim Burton's eyes for nearly 30 years, a collaboration that goes back even further than the director's partnership with Johnny Depp. The quadruply Oscar-nominated Elfman — heavily influenced by film composer Bernard Herrmann — scored his first soundtrack to his brother Richard Elfman's movie The Forbidden Zone, but it was while fronting new wavers Oingo Boingo that he caught Burton's attention. The two teamed up for Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and Elfman would go on to score all but two of Burton's movies, in addition to soundtracks for other filmmakers and TV shows, most famously The Simpsons. After a three-year exploration of fellow film composer Jerry Goldsmith's music, the 100 student members of the American Youth Symphony and conductor Alexander Treger embark on The Elfman Project, which kicks off with a performance of the soundtracks to Edward Scissorhands and Batman, as well as works by Stravinsky and Bartók. A preconcert symposium at 4 p.m. features a talk with Elfman and writer Jon Burlingame and another performance of excerpts of Elfman's score to Standard Operating Procedure, Errol Morris' 2008 documentary on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Royce Hall, UCLA, 10745 Dickson Plaza, Wstwd.; Sun., May 6, 7 p.m.; free. (310) 825-210, uclalive.org.

Sun., May 6, 7 p.m., 2012

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