David Loud
Encyclopedia
David Loud is an American
music supervisor, music director
, conductor
, vocal and dance arranger
, pianist
and actor
. He is best known for his collaborations with and interpretations of the music of both Kander and Ebb
and Stephen Sondheim
.
He attended North Country School
in Lake Placid, New York
, and Phillips Exeter Academy
in Exeter, New Hampshire
, and received a degree in music from Yale University
in New Haven, Connecticut
.
It was during his years at Yale that Loud auditioned for and was cast in Sondheim’s 1981 original Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along
as Ted, the onstage pianist. The production played 16 performances before closing and Loud returned to Yale to finish his degree. Returning to New York in 1984, he was cast as the Narrator/Pianist in a production of Billy Bishop Goes to War
, starring then-actor Scott Ellis
. His association with Ellis led to many of his subsequent collaborations.
Loud occupies a unique place in Broadway history, originating three roles as an actor, and also serving as conductor, music director or vocal arranger for many other musicals. Highlights of his music directing career include the hit Off-Broadway production of And the World Goes 'Round
, the Roundabout Theatre Company
's revival of She Loves Me
, the world premieres of The Visit
and First You Dream, and the original Broadway productions of Ragtime
, Sondheim on Sondheim
, Steel Pier
, Curtains
, and The Scottsboro Boys
.
His arrangements have been heard at Carnegie Hall
, The Hollywood Bowl
, The Kennedy Center
, and at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
' Allen Room. Loud has also enjoyed a long professional relationship with Marin Mazzie
and Jason Danieley
, whose evening of duets, "Opposite You," he created. They have performed it at Feinstein's, Joe's Pub
, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
' Kaplan Penthouse, and around the country. The album was recorded by PS Classics
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
music supervisor, music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, vocal and dance arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is best known for his collaborations with and interpretations of the music of both Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb were a highly successful songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb . Known primarily for their stage musicals, Kander and Ebb also scored several movies including their most famous song, the theme song from Martin Scorsese's New York, New York...
and Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
.
Biography
Loud recalls being musically talented at a young age:- "I started as a pianist at six years old. I always played piano, and I started music directing shows in seventh grade. We did Gilbert & Sullivan shows that I would teach everyone the parts for and force everyone to sing. I used to save up all my money and come to New York, sleep on my grandmother's couch, see eight shows in a week, and go to Sardi's at the end of the week. She was a real theatre nut too."
He attended North Country School
North Country School
North Country School was founded in 1938. The school is a private co-educational boarding school for children in grades four to nine, and includes a farm and garden. North Country School is located amongst of forest and grassy meadows above Round Lake in the Adirondack mountains of Lake Placid,...
in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
, and Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
in Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
, and received a degree in music from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
It was during his years at Yale that Loud auditioned for and was cast in Sondheim’s 1981 original Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along (musical)
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart....
as Ted, the onstage pianist. The production played 16 performances before closing and Loud returned to Yale to finish his degree. Returning to New York in 1984, he was cast as the Narrator/Pianist in a production of Billy Bishop Goes to War
Billy Bishop Goes to War
Billy Bishop Goes to War is a Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray and Eric Peterson. One of the most famous and widely-produced plays in Canadian theatre, it dramatizes the life of Canadian World War I fighter pilot Billy Bishop....
, starring then-actor Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis is an American stage director and television director.-Biography:Ellis has directed numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, including the New York City Opera Company revivals at the New York State Theatre: A Little Night Music and 110 in the Shade up to his current show, the...
. His association with Ellis led to many of his subsequent collaborations.
Loud occupies a unique place in Broadway history, originating three roles as an actor, and also serving as conductor, music director or vocal arranger for many other musicals. Highlights of his music directing career include the hit Off-Broadway production of And the World Goes 'Round
And the World Goes 'Round
And the World Goes 'Round is a musical revue showcasing the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The revue takes its title from a tune the songwriting team wrote for Liza Minnelli to sing in the film New York, New York-Productions:...
, the Roundabout Theatre Company
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
's revival of She Loves Me
She Loves Me
She Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the...
, the world premieres of The Visit
The Visit (musical)
The Visit is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander.Based on Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1956 satirical play about greed and revenge "Der Besuch der alten Dame," it focuses on one of the world's wealthiest women, Claire Zachanassian, who returns to her...
and First You Dream, and the original Broadway productions of Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
, Sondheim on Sondheim
Sondheim on Sondheim
Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. The revue had a limited run on Broadway in 2010.-Background:...
, Steel Pier
Steel Pier (musical)
Steel Pier is a musical written by the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb from the original book by David Thompson.-Productions:Directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, it opened on Broadway on April 24, 1997 and closed on June 28, 1997, running for 76 performances...
, Curtains
Curtains (musical)
Curtains is a musical with a book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes....
, and The Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys (musical)
The Scottsboro Boys is a musical with a book by David Thompson, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Based on the Scottsboro Boys trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb prior to the latter's death...
.
His arrangements have been heard at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, The Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
, The Kennedy Center
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
, and at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
' Allen Room. Loud has also enjoyed a long professional relationship with Marin Mazzie
Marin Mazzie
Marin Joy Mazzie is an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theater. She was nominated for the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Olivier Award for her role as Lilli/Katharine in Kiss Me, Kate, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award...
and Jason Danieley
Jason Danieley
Jason D. Danieley is an American actor, singer, concert performer and recording artist. He is married to fellow Broadway star, Marin Mazzie-Biography:...
, whose evening of duets, "Opposite You," he created. They have performed it at Feinstein's, Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
' Kaplan Penthouse, and around the country. The album was recorded by PS Classics
PS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals. Founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin, their releases have been critically acclaimed for their meticulous sonic detail and high-quality packaging and...
.