Brent Crayon is an American
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
,
musical director
A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...
,
orchestrator
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...
and
copyist
A copyist is a person who makes duplications of the same thing. The modern use of the term is mainly confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript. However, the ...
.
Early life and education
Crayon was born and grew up in
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. He graduated from
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...
with a
Bachelor of Music
A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...
degree in music performance, in 1995. He subsequently earned a
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
in piano performance from the
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
, in
Valencia, California
Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area, west of Interstate 5, is expanding with residential development and already includes major commercial and industrial parks. It stra ...
, in 1997.
Musical director
Crayon began his musical career as a trained classical pianist. After serving as the musical director for several productions at the Rubicon Theatre in
Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...
and elsewhere, he made his
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
theatrical debut at the
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighborin ...
, with the
pre-Broadway revival
Revival most often refers to:
*Resuscitation of a person
*Language revival of an extinct language
*Revival (sports team) of a defunct team
*Revival (television) of a former television series
*Revival (theatre), a new production of a previously pro ...
of ''
Flower Drum Song
''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...
,'' in 2001. Since then, he subsequently musical directed productions of ''
Les Miserables
LES or Les may refer to:
People
* Les (given name)
* Les (surname)
* L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer
Space flight
* Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews
* Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies
* Lincoln Experimental ...
'' in Alaska, ''
Dreamgirls
''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...
'' in Tokyo, ''
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway product ...
,''
''Ecstasy, the Musical,'', ''
A Class Act
''A Class Act'' is a quasi-autobiographical musical loosely based on the life of composer-lyricist Edward Kleban, who died at the age of 48 in 1987. Featuring a book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price along with music and lyrics by Kleban himself ...
,'' ''
Triumph of Love,'' ''
The Spitfire Grill
''The Spitfire Grill'' (also known as ''Care of the Spitfire Grill'') is a 1996 American drama film written and directed by Lee David Zlotoff, and starring Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Will Patton, Kieran Mulroney and Gaila ...
,'' ''
The Fantasticks
''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two ne ...
,'' ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'' and others.
Major collaborations
Crayon has worked and collaborated with several prominent composers and artists, including
Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...
,
John Bucchino
John Bucchino (born 1952) is an American songwriter of both lyrics and music, an accompanist, a cabaret performer, and a teacher. He has been called "super-talented". Stephen Schwartz said his songs have "insightful lyrics and gorgeous melo ...
,
Paul Gordon,
Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...
and directors
Richard Maltby, Jr.
Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: '' Ain't Misbehavin (1 ...
,
Chen Shi-Zheng
Chen Shi-Zheng (; born 1963 in Changsha, Hunan, China) is a New York–based theater and film director.
Having earned a BA from the Hunan Art School in Traditional Opera, he received his MA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. In ...
and
John Caird among others. He was the musical director for the world premieres of ''It’s Only Life'', ''
Bubble Boy: The Musical,'' ''Snapshots'' ''When Garbo Talks'' and ''The Devil and Daisy Jane;'' the associate musical director for the world premiere of ''Empire, the Musical;'' and the musical director of the west coast premieres of ''
First Date
A first date is the initial meeting during the dating process of two individuals, in which an effort is made to ask about each other, plan a potential relationship, and/or organize some sort of romantic activity. Aims vary between finding a ...
,'' ''
Songs for a New World
''Songs for a New World'' is a work of musical theatre written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. This was Jason Robert Brown's first produced show, originally produced Off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in 1995. Brown and director Daisy Prince put ...
'' and ''
Tick, Tick... Boom!'' and the Los Angeles premiere of ''
A Catered Affair :''The article is about the stage musical. For the 1956 film, see The Catered Affair.''
''A Catered Affair'' is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film ''The Catered Affa ...
.''
Crayon also served as the musical director, performing with the Upright Cabaret band, for the west coast debut of composers
Kait Kerrigan
Kait Kerrigan is an American playwright and musical theater lyricist and book writer.
Biography
Kait Kerrigan is a playwright and a lyricist and composer of musicals. Originally from Kingston, Pennsylvania, she graduated from Wyoming Valley West ...
and
Bree Lowdermilk
Bree Lowdermilk (formerly Brian Lowdermilk) is an American musical theater composer and lyricist.
Biography
In addition to writing music and lyrics, Lowdermilk is also a music director, arranger, vocal coach, and pianist. They are an alumnus of ...
songs, which featured performers
Sarah Hyland
Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having minor roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and '' Blind Date'' ...
,
Melissa Benoist
Melissa Marie Benoist ( ; born October 4, 1988) is an American actress and singer. Her first major role was Marley Rose on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox musical comedy drama ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' (2012–2014), in which she was a serie ...
,
Barrett Foa
Barrett Conrad Foa (born September 18, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, and actor. He is best known for his performances in Broadway theatre. He has played many leading characters in Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions. He has appea ...
,
Max Ehrich
Max Lewis Ehrich (born June 24, 1991) is an American actor, singer, and dancer.
Life and career
Ehrich was raised in Marlboro Township, New Jersey, in a Jewish family with mother Rhonda Ehrich and father Bruce Ehrich. He made his film debut st ...
, Dezmond Meeks,
Meghann Fahy
Meghann Alexandra Fahy (; born April 25, 1990) is an American actress. She had her first prominent role playing Hannah O'Connor (One Life to Live), Hannah O'Connor on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live' ...
,
Laura Dickinson
Laura Elsie Dickinson is an American actor and musician from California who is best known for their work on the Disney Channel's programs ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''Sofia the First'', and ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'' as a voice actor, music a ...
, Matt Sax, Morgan Karr,
Arielle Jacobs
Arielle Jacobs is an American singer and actress, mostly seen on stage in musicals. She is best known for her roles as Nina Rosario in the US Tour and Broadway productions of '' In the Heights'' and as Princess Jasmine in the Australian and Bro ...
,
Colleen Ballinger
Colleen Mae Ballinger ( ; born November 21, 1986) is an American comedian, YouTuber, actress, singer and writer. She is best known for her creation and portrayal of the Internet character Miranda Sings, posting videos of the character on YouT ...
and others.
Piano soloist
As a featured piano soloist, Crayon has performed with the Ventura Chamber Orchestra, the
Long Beach Symphony and the Santa Monica Symphony.
Composer
In 1998, he served as the composer for an original
children's theatre Children's theatre is a theatre for younger audiences.
Children's Theatre or Children's Theater may also refer to:
* Theatre for Early Years, blanket term for theatrical events designed for audiences of pre-school children
* Youth Theatre
Individ ...
production of ''
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" ( ; ; or ) is a German fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and it was published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Grimms' story was developed from the French literary fairy tale ...
,'' based on the German
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
, which was successfully performed in
repertory
A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.
United Kingdom ...
.
Teaching
Crayon is also an accomplished accompanist and has been a summer program faculty member at the
Idyllwild Arts Academy
Idyllwild Arts Academy is a private school located in Idyllwild, in the San Jacinto Mountains and San Bernardino National Forest, within western Riverside County, California. The school was founded in 1946. It was previously known as Idyllwil ...
, in
Idyllwild, California. He has also been on the staff of
El Camino College
El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a public community college in Los Angeles County, California. Most of it is in Alondra Park,[Torrance, California
Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...]
, serving as the musical director and conductor.
Recordings
He served as an orchestrator on the original cast recording of the musical, ''
Bubble Boy,'' by the writing team of
Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio
Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio are American screenwriters, collaborating on the screenplays for animated films including the '' Despicable Me'' franchise, '' Horton Hears a Who'', '' The Lorax'' and ''The Secret Life of Pets''. The duo also served as ...
. He also played the synthesizer for the album ''Michael Byron: Music Of Nights Without Moon Or Pearl,'' featuring the music of composer Michael Byron.
Awards
In 2015, Crayon was nominated for an
Ovation Award
The Ovation Awards were a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They were given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Win ...
for Best Musical Direction for his work on ''
The Last Five Years
''The Last Five Years'' is a musical written by Jason Robert Brown. It premiered at Chicago's Northlight Theatre in 2001 and was then produced Off-Broadway in March 2002. Since then it has had numerous productions both in the United States an ...
'' at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, California. He was previously nominated for an Ovation Award in 2005, in the same category for ''Songs For a New World,'' also at the Rubicon Theatre. A 2010 production of this musical at the International City Theatre in
Long Beach
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, also garnered Crayon a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award nomination.
In 2008, Crayon won
DayTony Awardfor Best Musical Direction for his work on ''Snapshots'' at the Human Race & Victoria Theatre, in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. In 2011, he was nominated for an
NAACP Theatre Award, in the category of Best Music Director for ''Jacques Brel is Alive and Well And Living in Paris'' at the Colony Theatre in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
.
NAACP Theatre Awards and Festival Weekend
LA Stage Times Archive. @ This Stage Magazine. August 16, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2017
External links
Official website
*
References
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crayon, Brent
American music directors
21st-century American conductors (music)
Living people
Musicians from New Orleans
California Institute of the Arts alumni
Loyola University New Orleans alumni
American male pianists
21st-century American pianists
21st-century American male musicians
Year of birth missing (living people)