Thomas Z. Shepard

Last updated

Thomas Z. Shepard (born June 26, 1936) [1] is an American record producer who is best known for his recordings of Broadway musicals, including the works of Stephen Sondheim. Shepard is also a composer, conductor, music arranger and pianist.

Contents

He has won twelve Grammy Awards and produced the original cast recordings of many of the Sondheim musicals, including Sweeney Todd , Company and Sunday in the Park with George , among others. He also produced the original cast recordings of 1776 , La Cage aux Folles and 42nd Street , among over a hundred others. He has produced hundreds of classical music and popular music recordings.

Biography

Shepard attended The Juilliard School's preparatory division, training in piano and composition, leaving after his third year, in 1949. He then attended Oberlin College, again studying piano and, privately, composition, receiving his B.A., Music, in 1958. He then continued his studies in 1959 at the Yale Graduate School of Music. [2]

Beginning in 1960, Shepard worked for fourteen years for Columbia Records, eventually becoming co-director of CBS Masterworks. He joined RCA Records in 1974, where he was Division Vice President of RCA Red Seal, responsible for recording, signing and marketing of the label, until 1986. [3] He was then Vice President: Classical and Theatrical until 1989 for MCA Records in New York, where he created their classical and theatrical record line. Shepard then became an independent producer, wrote, narrated and produced The WQXR/MCA Classics Listener's Guide (1988; music appreciation recordings) and has lectured on musical theatre and classical music. [2] [4]

Shepard has produced numerous classical and Broadway cast albums, winning 12 Grammy Awards, including four with songs by Stephen Sondheim. [3] In 1984, he received the NARAS Governors' Award for Lifetime Achievement, [2] and in 1986, he won a Drama Desk Special Award "for preserving musical theater heritage on record." [5] Shepard received two Emmy Award nominations for songs he composed for the PBS television show Between the Lions (2007). He has also produced live concert events, most recently My Fair Lady in 2007, and Camelot in 2008, with the New York Philharmonic, broadcast on PBS as part of the Live from Lincoln Center series. [6] Shepard has arranged music and conducted for Anna Moffo, [7] Richard Kiley, the Norman Luboff Choir and Richard Tucker, [8] among others. He performed as a pianist at various concert venues, and his recording of classical piano pieces and improvisations, "Love on a Stormy Weekend", was released by Planet Earth Recording Co. in 1998. [9]

Shepard is the composer of five musicals and five operas, among other pieces. [10] The operas include That Pig of a Molette (1988) and A Question of Faith (1990), both with libretti by Sheldon Harnick, which were presented as a double-bill under the title Love in Two Countries at St. Peter's Church Theatre, in New York City, by Musical Theater Works in 1991; [11] and a score for the lost music of Thespis (2008), which has been called "a love letter to [ Gilbert and Sullivan ] and ... might be better than the original". [12] In 1971, he composed the motion picture score for Such Good Friends , directed by Otto Preminger, and in 1974, he wrote a children's cantata, In the Night Kitchen, with words by Maurice Sendak. He also composed the piano folio Folk a la Classique for Carl Fischer Music (2003; original compositions for children) and was the composer and lyricist for children's educational material for the Carnegie Hall Explorers Division, The Children’s Symphony (2004, intended to teach the instruments of the orchestra to second-and third-grade schoolchildren) and for the PBS television show Between the Lions (2007). [2] [13]

Selected list of recordings produced

Shepard has produced numerous musical theatre, classical and opera albums, including the following. (G) indicates a Grammy Award winner.

Shepard's classical music recordings include albums with Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez and others, [15] and his albums of popular music include, among others:

In addition, Shepard contributed to the early 1970s "switched-on" cycle of synthesized electronic classical albums, with Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on the Moog* (*but were afraid to ask for), in collaboration with Andrew Kazdin (1973). [16] In the 1990s, he also produced several albums for Sony Classical, with conductor John Williams and The Boston Pops, including The Star Wars Trilogy (Skywalker Orchestra); The Spielberg-Williams Collaboration; I Love a Parade; Kismet , starring Samuel Ramey, Jerry Hadley, Dom DeLuise, Ruth Ann Swenson and Julia Migenes; [17] and The Green Album, among others. [18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Holland, Bernard (July 15, 1984). "Capturing Broadway on Record". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Thomas Z. Shepard". Masterworks on Broadway, accessed October 25, 2010
  3. 1 2 3 Thomas Z. Shepard at the SondheimGuide, accessed February 9, 2011
  4. ↑ Bio of Shepard at BroadwayWorld.com
  5. ↑ Shepard's Drama Desk Award Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Stempleski, Susan. Review of Camelot (classicalsource.com)
  7. ↑ Wishing You a Merry Christmas, with Moffo and Tucker, CBS SBR 235161
  8. ↑ Richard Tucker, The Soul of Italy, tracks 13-24, Sony Classical (1999), CD SMK 66309; and Hatikvah! Richard Tucker sings great Jewish Favorites, with the Norman Luboff Choir, Columbia (1969), cat. no. MS 7217
  9. ↑ PE-CD-2418. See "Tom (Thomas Z.) Shepard" Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine , Planet Earth Recording Co., accessed October 25, 2010
  10. ↑ The musicals are When Time Stands Still, with a libretto by Tony Musante, produced at Oberlin College in 1957; Haircut, with writers Larry Sigman and Danny Silverstein, based on a Ring Lardner short story (Oberlin 1958); The Snow Queen (1963, after Hans Christian Andersen; Richard Tucker recorded the opening song, "When You're Young") and Blaming it on You (1970; Joan Morris and Bill Bolcom recorded one of the songs, "Sweet Mary Go to the Movies"), both with a libretto by Charles Burr and yet to be produced; and The Horse's Mouth (1960s, based on the novel by Joyce Cary, lyrics by Shepard, no book written). His first opera was The Last of the Just, with a libretto by Gerald Walker, based on the novel by Andre Schwarz-Bart (1980)
  11. ↑ Simon, John. "Theatre: The Belle of Kenya", New York Magazine, April 15, 1991, pp. 66–67
  12. ↑ Koven, Vance R. "G&S’s Thespis Grown New by GaSLOCoLI", The Boston Musical Intelligencer, July 9, 2014. Shepard's score was first performed in concert in June 2008 by the Blue Hill Troupe in New York City. See Jones, Kenneth. "Thespis, Lost G&S Operetta, Gets New Score by Thomas Z. Shepard" Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine , Playbill, 28 May 2008; and Filichia, Peter. "G&S&S" Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine , TheaterMania, June 9, 2008. It received a fully staged production in June–July 2014 by the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island. See Parks, Steve. "Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company marks 60th anniversary", Newsday , June 19, 2014.
  13. ↑ Information about Shepard's contributions to Between the Lions
  14. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "Library of Congress Adds Original Sweeney Todd Cast Album to National Recording Registry" Archived 2014-04-03 at archive.today , Playbill, April 2, 2014
  15. ↑ See North, James H. New York Philharmonic: The Authorized Recordings, 1917–2005, 2006, pp. 142–255, The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN   0-8108-5854-1 and Thomas Z. Shepard at the Sondheim Guide
  16. ↑ Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on the Moog, CBS cat. no. 73146
  17. ↑ Kismet – A Musical Arabian Night, Sony Classical (1991) ASIN: B00138JCT8
  18. ↑ See, e.g., Sony Classical: Great Performances, 1903-1998 Sony Music 65819 (1999), at Allmusic, accessed February 9, 2011

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Bernstein</span> American conductor and composer (1918–1990)

Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American-born conductor to receive international acclaim. Bernstein was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history" according to music critic Donal Henahan. Bernstein's honors and accolades include seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and 16 Grammy Awards as well as an Academy Award nomination. He received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981.

The 13th Annual Grammy Awards were held on 16 March 1971, on ABC, and marked the ceremony's first live telecast. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1970. The ceremony was hosted for the first time by Andy Williams.

The 22nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 1980, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1979. This year was notable for being the first year to have a designated category for Rock music.

The 16th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1974, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognised accomplishments by musicians from the year 1973.

The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including Song of the Year while opening the show with his Grammy nominated hit.

The 27th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1985, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, and were broadcast live in the United States by CBS. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1984.

The 2nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on November 29, 1959, at Los Angeles and New York. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1959. Hosted by Meredith Willson, this marked the first televised Grammy Award ceremony, and it was aired in episodes as special Sunday Showcase. It was held in the same year as the first Grammy Awards in 1959, and no award ceremony was held in 1960. These awards recognized musical accomplishments by performers for that particular year. Frank Sinatra and Duke Ellington each won three awards.

The 6th Annual Grammy Awards were held on May 12, 1964, at Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. They recognized accomplishments by musicians for the year 1963. Henry Mancini won 4 awards.

The 10th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 29, 1968, at Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1967.

The 26th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1984, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1983. Michael Jackson, who had been recovering from scalp burns sustained due to an accident that occurred during the filming of a Pepsi commercial, won a record eight awards during the show. It is notable for garnering the largest Grammy Award television audience ever with 51.67 million viewers.

The 29th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1987, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.

The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album's producers, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more playing time of the album, though the number of recipients has varied over the category's tenure.

A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast. A cast recording featuring the first cast to perform a musical in a particular venue is known, for example, as an "original Broadway cast recording" (OBCR) or an "original London cast recording" (OLCR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonesuch Records</span> American record label company

Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records, and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch has developed into a label that records critically acclaimed music from a wide range of genres. Robert Hurwitz was president of the company from 1984 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Kuhn</span> American actress and singer (born 1958)

Judy Kuhn is an American actress, singer and activist, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film Pocahontas, including her rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

David Frost is an American classical record producer and pianist. He has won 25 Grammy Awards for his work including seven wins for Producer of the Year, Classical. He is a music producer for the Metropolitan Opera and has recorded major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

<i>Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street</i> 1979 musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, also known as Sweeney Todd is a 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The character of Sweeney Todd first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful titled The String of Pearls.

<i>Merrily We Roll Along</i> (musical) 1981 musical by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth

Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.

Paul Gemignani is an American musical director with a career on Broadway and West End theatre spanning over forty years.

Original Cast Album: Company is a 1970 documentary film by D. A. Pennebaker, observing the marathon recording session to create the original cast album for the Stephen Sondheim musical Company.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.