Dave Pierce is a Canadian Emmy-winning songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, arranger

Arranger

In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...

, orchestrator. Pierce was the Music Director for the Opening

2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...

, Closing

2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony

The Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...

, and Victory ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

 in Vancouver, for which he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction; arranger/orchestrator for Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...

's Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

 musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

, Come Fly Away (opened March 2010) in New York on Broadway and now opening as "Sinatra Dance With Me" at the Wynn in Las Vegas; and music director of the Calgary Stampede

Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway,...

 Evening Grandstand Show. Pierce was the Musical Director of the 2009 Gemini Awards television show in Canada. He is father to two daughters.

Pierce has worked with a variety of performers, including Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé

Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...

, Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...

, Petula Clark

Petula Clark

Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...

, Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

, Paul Brandt

Paul Brandt

Paul Rennée Belobersycky is a Canadian country music artist, known professionally as Paul Brandt. Growing up in Calgary, he was a pediatric RN at the time of his big break...

, Ian Tyson

Ian Tyson

Ian Tyson CM, AOE is a Canadian singer-songwriter, best known for his song "Four Strong Winds". He was also one half of the duo Ian & Sylvia.-Career:Tyson was born to British immigrants in Victoria in 1933, and grew up in Duncan B.C...

, Jann Arden

Jann Arden

Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...

, Jorane

Jorane

Jorane is a French-Canadian singer/cellist, who is notable for her alternative music style on a typically classical instrument as well as her ability to sing while playing cello at the same time....

, Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

, Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan

Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...

, Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...

 and kd lang. Pierce was commissioned to compose a symphonic work for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Career

An alumnus of Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music (1992), Pierce returned to his native Canada and began working with legendary entertainment producers developing many successful projects including Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular in New York City featuring The Rockettes, Grey Cup half time shows for the Canadian Football League, television awards shows including Canada's Gemini Awards and The ACMA's in USA. His scores accompany fireworks spectacles in USA, Canada and Mexico, and theatrical Broadway musicals internationally.

His extensive credits range from musical theater, sporting and cultural events to commercial recordings and live mega spectacles. As an orchestrator, Pierce has adapted scores for hit Broadway National Tours including “Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

"; “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber Concert Tour,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Thoroughly Modern Millie is a 1967 American musical film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay by Richard Morris focuses on a naive young woman who finds herself in the midst of a series of madcap adventures when she sets her sights on marrying her wealthy boss.The...

,” "42nd Street

42nd Street

42nd Street may refer to:*42nd Street *42nd Street **"Forty-Second Street", title song from the film*42nd Street -New York City Subway:...

", “Crazy For You

Crazy for You

Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well...

”, “Dr.Dolittle,” and “Annie Get Your Gun

Annie Get Your Gun

Annie Get Your Gun may refer to:*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1946 musical play*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1950 film version of the 1946 musical*Annie Get Your Gun , 1946, with Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton...

.” His compositions and musical direction are a mainstay of the Calgary Stampede's nightly Grandstand Show and Firework Symphony where each year he composes and conducts a new ninety-minute score performed by a cast of five hundred.

The stars of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...

 perform their acts to Pierce’s compositions throughout the world. Clients include ABC, CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

, Madison Square Gardens, 19 Entertainment, Macy’s Parade, Arista Records, Tropicana Resorts, ClearChannel Europe, Disney, Bayer, Fashion Television, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Troika Entertainment, The Government of Canada, BMG and Universal Music. He regularly works in all major markets; New York, L.A., Nashville, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver.

Vancouver 2010

Dave Pierce was the Director of Music for the 2010 Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His compositions were used as the underpinning of the Opening

2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...

 and Closing Ceremoni

2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony

The Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...

es as well as the daily medals presentations. His controversial arrangement of the Canadian national anthem "O Canada" as performed at the Opening Ceremony of February 12, 2010 created a nationwide media frenzy where Canadians either strongly loved or hated the arrangement, with little room being occupied in the middle. For a nation who rarely publicly announced patriotic sentiment, Pierce's arrangement sparked a conversation about the anthem that had never before been heard in forums from the National media to Canadians gathered around the kitchen table.

Pierce produced the CD "Sounds of Vancouver 2010: Opening Ceremony Commemorative Album

2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...

" which sold Gold, he also produced "Sounds of Vancouver 2010: Closing Ceremony Commemorative Album

2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony

The Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...

." Each CD features artists from the ceremonies including Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

, Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...

, k-os

K-os

Kevin Brereton , better known by his stage name k-os , is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer...

, Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé

Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...

, Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan

Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...

, Nickelback

Nickelback

Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....

, Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...

, Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland

Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...

, Garou

Garou

Garou may refer to:* A word from the French "loup-garou", meaning "werewolf"* Garou a French Canadian singer** Garou , the 2006 eponymous album by Garou...

, and opera singers Measha Brueggergosman

Measha Brueggergosman

Measha Brueggergosman is a Canadian soprano who performs both as an opera singer and concert artist. She has performed internationally and won numerous awards...

 and Ben Heppner

Ben Heppner

Ben Heppner, CC is a Canadian tenor, specializing in opera and other classical works for voice.Heppner was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek...

. One pre-recorded segment featuring a performance of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" was conducted in the studio by legendary ballet maestro Earl Stafford, otherwise Pierce conducted all of the recording orchestras as well as the Opening Ceremony live on-stage orchestra (known as the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Orchestra, per the album). Pierce utilized a unique approach to producing the recordings for the Games which employed over 300 musicians and provided a cross-genre score that included Canadian indigenous musicians, symphonic instrumentalists and players from the worlds of jazz, punk, rock, R&B, folk and country.

External links

• Official Website
• Dave Pierce on Facebook
  Facebook
  Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...