Walter Pierce (impresario)
Encyclopedia
Walter Pierce is a performing arts impresario who, from 1965 until 1996, presented, managed, and promoted over 1500 music, dance, and theater events in Boston under the auspices of the Celebrity Series of Boston
. Pierce also served as president of the International Society for the Performing Arts in 1976 and 1977.
in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1947 and from Boston University in 1952. He was drafted into the US Army in September 1952, served two years, eighteen months in Germany.
Following his discharge, Pierce moved to New York City, working for the advertising firm of Ruthrauff and Ryan before joining the theatrical publicity firm of Max Eisen. While with Max Eisen, Pierce promoted Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including Yiddish Theatre productions, and the summer tent productions of St. John Terrell who conceived ‘Broadway under the big top,’ the presentation of musical theatre in the round under a circus tent, also known as Music Circus
.
Pierce returned to Boston to pursue a master’s degree in Public Relations at Boston University
, following which Pierce joined the South Shore Music Circus, a summer tent theater in Cohasset, MA, as publicity director. During Cohasset’s off-season, he free-lanced as a publicist promoting the Boston premiere of Federico Fellini
’s film La Strada
, writing for the exhibitors’ trade magazine Motion Picture Herald and managing the opening of a foreign films theater in Milton, Massachusetts
, before returning the following summer to the South Shore Music Circus.
, who offered him a position with the Boston University Celebrity Series that Pierce accepted, working summers at the Music Circus and at the Celebrity Series the balance of the year. Pierce left the Music Circus in 1960 to work for the Celebrity Series on a full-time basis.
Following Aaron Richmond’s death in 1965, Pierce briefly shared co-managing directorship of the Boston University Celebrity Series with Mrs. Richmond until her retirement a few years later.
Following Mrs. Richmond’s retirement, Pierce assumed the sole managing directorship of the Celebrity Series and continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1996. During that period, Pierce expanded the number of presentations from twenty-five to over forty each season.
, soprano Dominique Labelle, and baritone Christopheren Nomura; pianists Christopher Taylor and Max Levinson, the Boston Composers String Quartet and the Atlantic Brass Quintet
all performed on the Series.http://www.celebrityseries.org/CS_aboutus/archives.htm
In addition to presenting as head of the Celebrity Series, Pierce served as artistic advisor to several New England based concert series, among them the Gile Community Concert Trust Fund concerts in Concord, New Hampshire
, the Greater New Bedford Concert Association, the Portland Concert Association in Portland, Maine
, the Temple Beth-El Series in Providence, Rhode Island
, the Castle Hill summer concert series in Ipswich, Massachusetts
, the Phillips Academy Celebrity Series in Andover, Massachusetts
, the Boston Morning Musicales, the annual Gratwick concert at Milton Academy
, and the Harvard Musical Association
.
In 1971, the Celebrity Series merged offices with the Boston Opera Association. During this time, Pierce worked closely with Harriet O’Brien, managing director of the Boston Opera Association, sponsors of the annual one-week Boston engagement of the Metropolitan Opera. Following O’Brien’s death, he managed the Metropolitan Opera
week in Boston until the company ceased touring.
. The Celebrity Series, which had been affiliated with Boston University since 1954, became known as the Wang Celebrity Series. In 1989, the Celebrity Series ended its affiliation with the Wang Center; was incorporated as an independent, non-profit organization, Celebrity Series of Boston, and with Bank of Boston as its primary corporate sponsor, became the Bank of Boston Celebrity Series. A series of bank mergers resulted in a variety of name changes for the Series: Bank Boston Celebrity Series, Fleet Boston Celebrity Series, Bank of America Celebrity Series. In June 2007, the Celebrity Series began operating under its incorporated name Celebrity Series of Boston.
When Pierce retired in 1996, Martha H. Jones was appointed Executive Director of the Celebrity Series of Boston.
on April 26, 1998. A distinguished array of performing artists participated in the tribute concert including Emanuel Ax
, William Bolcom
and Joan Morris, Natasha Thomas-Schmitt of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Juilliard String Quartet
, Robert Mann, Yo-Yo Ma
, Jean-Pierre Rampal
, Isaac Stern
, and Dubravka Tomsic
. Among those in attendance at Symphony Hall and the gala dinner following the performance were famed soprano Leontyne Price and Judith Jamison, Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It was announced at the tribute that seat P1 in Symphony Hall was endowed in Pierce’s name, and that the Celebrity Series inaugurated the Walter Pierce Annual Performance Fund to support main stage programming as well as activities in the community.
Pierce was married for over thirty years to the former Betty Ann Brown, who died in 1994. Pierce resides in Cambridge, MA with his companion Margaret Ulmer. His daughters, Melinda Pierce and her family reside in Washington, D.C., Susannah (Pierce) Keefe and her family in Arlington, VA. He has four grandchildren.
Pierce has been a member of ISPA, the International Society for the Performing Arts, for over forty years.
Celebrity Series of Boston
The Celebrity Series of Boston is a non-profit performing arts presenter established in Boston, Massachusetts by Boston impresario Aaron Richmond in 1938 as Aaron Richmond's Celebrity Series....
. Pierce also served as president of the International Society for the Performing Arts in 1976 and 1977.
Education and Early Employment
Walter Pierce graduated from Rindge Technical High SchoolCambridge Rindge and Latin School
The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.The school, serving grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Cambridge Public Schools....
in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1947 and from Boston University in 1952. He was drafted into the US Army in September 1952, served two years, eighteen months in Germany.
Following his discharge, Pierce moved to New York City, working for the advertising firm of Ruthrauff and Ryan before joining the theatrical publicity firm of Max Eisen. While with Max Eisen, Pierce promoted Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including Yiddish Theatre productions, and the summer tent productions of St. John Terrell who conceived ‘Broadway under the big top,’ the presentation of musical theatre in the round under a circus tent, also known as Music Circus
Music circus
Music circus is an American theatrical form begun in Lambertville, New Jersey, by St. John Terrell in 1949. Established as summer stock, the new theatre venues primarily housed light operas and operettas, produced in the round, under a circus-style big top....
.
Pierce returned to Boston to pursue a master’s degree in Public Relations at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, following which Pierce joined the South Shore Music Circus, a summer tent theater in Cohasset, MA, as publicity director. During Cohasset’s off-season, he free-lanced as a publicist promoting the Boston premiere of Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
’s film La Strada
La Strada
La Strada is a 1954 Italian neorealist drama directed by Federico Fellini in which a naïve young woman is sold to a brutish man and goes on the road as a part of his itinerant show....
, writing for the exhibitors’ trade magazine Motion Picture Herald and managing the opening of a foreign films theater in Milton, Massachusetts
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
, before returning the following summer to the South Shore Music Circus.
Celebrity Series of Boston
During his second season at the South Shore Music Circus, Pierce was introduced to Boston impresario Aaron RichmondAaron Richmond
Aaron Richmond was an American performing arts manager, pianist, impresario, and educator, based in Boston, Massachusetts, who managed the careers of numerous classical musicians and founded Celebrity Series of Boston, a performing arts presenting organization that still operates today.-Early...
, who offered him a position with the Boston University Celebrity Series that Pierce accepted, working summers at the Music Circus and at the Celebrity Series the balance of the year. Pierce left the Music Circus in 1960 to work for the Celebrity Series on a full-time basis.
Following Aaron Richmond’s death in 1965, Pierce briefly shared co-managing directorship of the Boston University Celebrity Series with Mrs. Richmond until her retirement a few years later.
Following Mrs. Richmond’s retirement, Pierce assumed the sole managing directorship of the Celebrity Series and continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1996. During that period, Pierce expanded the number of presentations from twenty-five to over forty each season.
Creation of Project Discovery
In 1984, Pierce began the Celebrity Series of Boston outreach program, Project Discovery, which provided students and senior citizens an opportunity to attend Celebrity Series performances at greatly reduced prices. Pierce also developed the Emerging Artists Series which provided worthy Boston-based performers the opportunity to perform in a major Boston concert venue sponsored by the Celebrity Series. Soprano Lorraine HuntLorraine Hunt Lieberson
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was an American mezzo-soprano, known for the dramatic power of her vocal artistry as well as her commitment to performing infrequently-heard Baroque era and contemporary works...
, soprano Dominique Labelle, and baritone Christopheren Nomura; pianists Christopher Taylor and Max Levinson, the Boston Composers String Quartet and the Atlantic Brass Quintet
Atlantic Brass Quintet
The Boston-based Atlantic Brass Quintet is a five-piece chamber music ensemble which was founded in 1985, by John Manning, Joseph Foley, John Faieta and Bob Rasmussen...
all performed on the Series.http://www.celebrityseries.org/CS_aboutus/archives.htm
In addition to presenting as head of the Celebrity Series, Pierce served as artistic advisor to several New England based concert series, among them the Gile Community Concert Trust Fund concerts in Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
, the Greater New Bedford Concert Association, the Portland Concert Association in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, the Temple Beth-El Series in Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, the Castle Hill summer concert series in Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
, the Phillips Academy Celebrity Series in Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, the Boston Morning Musicales, the annual Gratwick concert at Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...
, and the Harvard Musical Association
Harvard Musical Association
The Harvard Musical Association is a private charitable organization founded by Harvard University graduates in 1837 for the purposes of advancing musical culture and literacy, both at the University and in the city of Boston. Though initially a spin-off of the Pierian Sodality, the Association...
.
In 1971, the Celebrity Series merged offices with the Boston Opera Association. During this time, Pierce worked closely with Harriet O’Brien, managing director of the Boston Opera Association, sponsors of the annual one-week Boston engagement of the Metropolitan Opera. Following O’Brien’s death, he managed the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
week in Boston until the company ceased touring.
Wang Center for the Performing Arts
In 1984, Pierce was appointed managing director of the Wang Center for the Performing ArtsWang Center for the Performing Arts
The Citi Performing Arts Center is located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It consists of two theatres, Wang Theatre and Shubert Theatre, both of which are neighbors, on Tremont Street, in Boston's Theatre District...
. The Celebrity Series, which had been affiliated with Boston University since 1954, became known as the Wang Celebrity Series. In 1989, the Celebrity Series ended its affiliation with the Wang Center; was incorporated as an independent, non-profit organization, Celebrity Series of Boston, and with Bank of Boston as its primary corporate sponsor, became the Bank of Boston Celebrity Series. A series of bank mergers resulted in a variety of name changes for the Series: Bank Boston Celebrity Series, Fleet Boston Celebrity Series, Bank of America Celebrity Series. In June 2007, the Celebrity Series began operating under its incorporated name Celebrity Series of Boston.
When Pierce retired in 1996, Martha H. Jones was appointed Executive Director of the Celebrity Series of Boston.
Tribute Concert
Pierce was honored at a tribute concert in Symphony HallSymphony Hall, Boston
Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999...
on April 26, 1998. A distinguished array of performing artists participated in the tribute concert including Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
, William Bolcom
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, two Grammy Awards, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Bolcom taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973–2008...
and Joan Morris, Natasha Thomas-Schmitt of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Juilliard String Quartet
Juilliard String Quartet
The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York. The original members were violinists Robert Mann and Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer, and cellist Arthur Winograd; Current members are Joseph Lin and Ronald Copes violinists,...
, Robert Mann, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century."-Early years:...
, Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, and Dubravka Tomsic
Dubravka Tomšic Srebotnjak
Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak is a Slovenian pianist and music teacher.Her substantial talent as a pianist was made obvious while receiving private instruction at a young age, so it was only natural that she continue her education in the field, first at the Music high school in Ljubljana and later at...
. Among those in attendance at Symphony Hall and the gala dinner following the performance were famed soprano Leontyne Price and Judith Jamison, Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It was announced at the tribute that seat P1 in Symphony Hall was endowed in Pierce’s name, and that the Celebrity Series inaugurated the Walter Pierce Annual Performance Fund to support main stage programming as well as activities in the community.
Pierce was married for over thirty years to the former Betty Ann Brown, who died in 1994. Pierce resides in Cambridge, MA with his companion Margaret Ulmer. His daughters, Melinda Pierce and her family reside in Washington, D.C., Susannah (Pierce) Keefe and her family in Arlington, VA. He has four grandchildren.
Pierce has been a member of ISPA, the International Society for the Performing Arts, for over forty years.