Music performance grad always somewhere beyond the sea
by Matt Jardin |
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Music performance alumnus and UAA Glee Club founder Lamont Alexander Pierce, B.M. '13, originally moved to Anchorage for what was supposed to be two years to begin a career as a music teacher. Seven years later, he found his voice as a singer and has been performing around the world since. (Photo courtesy of Lamont Alexander Pierce)
Tropical cruises and Disney vacations are dream trips for some, but for music performance alumnus Lamont Alexander Pierce, it's just another day at the office.
Pierce kicked off his trend of performing in well-known tourist destinations by moving from Ardmore, Pennsylvania to Anchorage to study music. Despite growing up with a singer for a father, Pierce originally planned to become a music teacher.
To do that, he sought out music internships, eventually finding the best opportunity in Anchorage as the director of a church choir. He accepted the position, and as an added bonus, the church offered to help pay for Pierce to enroll at UAA so he could continue his musical development.
"I thought it would be cool to go to Alaska. I only planned on being there for two years doing the internship, but I ended up staying for seven years while I got my degree," he explains.
Once at UAA, Pierce began transitioning from wanting to teach to wanting to sing. As part of the university's music curriculum, students are encouraged to take a performance class. Apparently the saying rings true that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - Pierce elected to sing due to being most comfortable in that area.
From there, it didn't take long for Pierce to literally and figuratively find his voice.
"My voice teacher talked me into switching from music education to music performance. She said I had a unique voice and that I could always teach afterward," he recalls.
At the suggestion of his singing teacher, Pierce signed on to perform in his first musical, UAA's rendition of Godspell in 2008. Afterward, Pierce was hooked. If there was a musical on campus or at one of Anchorage's other theater companies, it was likely that Pierce was auditioning for it.
"I fell in love with musical theater, so I focused more on stage performance," he says.
Even with the transition from teaching to performing, Pierce still felt it was important to provide opportunities in music for people. So along with five friends, Pierce founded the UAA Glee Club.
"We wanted to have more performance outlets for people, not just music majors, but other people at the school. I'm proud and excited to see that it's still going," he shares.
Pierce earned his B.M. in musical performance in 2013, leaving behind a successful Glee Club and an impressive list of stage performances. Not long after graduating, he moved to LA which quickly became a hub for Pierce while he traveled the world as a performer.
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For two years, Piece performed at Tokyo DisneySea as a singer on the show Big Band Beat. The show performed five times a day, five days a week, and featured Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Daisy Duck, backed by a 13-piece jazz band. (Photo courtesy of Lamont Alexander Pierce)
After a few performances back in Anchorage and Juneau, Pierce auditioned for and landed his first long-term gig: four 6-month contracts performing at Tokyo DisneySea. Pierce performed five shows a day, five days week as a singer in a show titled Big Band Beat, a jazz act featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Daisy Duck, backed by a 13-piece band.
"Living in Japan was my favorite and I loved everything about it. If there was a way to live there permanently, I would figure it out," says Pierce.
One of the reasons Pierce recalls his time in Japan with rose-tinted glasses is because it's where he met his wife, Kayla, a fellow performer at Tokyo DisneySea. Much like the park's famous mouse couple, both Pierce and his wife have become inseparable.
Following their stint at the Japanese nautical park, the pair landed their next long-term jobs as singers on the real-life ocean. For the last two years and counting, Pierce and his wife have performed on three different cruise ships traveling to 20 countries.
In addition to the scenic variety, the cruise ship performances also offer a little more performance variety. On their most recent tour traveling primarily to Ensenada, Mexico, and Santa Catalina Island, California, Pierce and his wife are the lead singers on three shows: a pop show, a Motown show and a jukebox musical show.
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Pierce met his wife, Kayla, a fellow performer at Tokyo DisneySea. In the two years since leaving Japan, the couple has worked together as singers on three cruise ships traveling to 20 countries. (Photo courtesy of Lamont Alexander Pierce)
"When you work on a ship, it becomes your entire life. But it's nice because you get to travel and you don't have to worry about rent or food," Pierce describes. "And the crowds are great. They're really responsive and enthusiastic and don't know what to expect."
On the same boat of crowds who don't know what to expect is Pierce himself. While he and his wife are in the process of renewing their ship contract, Pierce shares his excitement at all the possibilities yet to come, whether that means securing a new contract in a new tourist destination, or a return to musical productions.
"Each of them have their pros and cons, but I love doing both."
Written by Matt Jardin, UAA Office of University Advancement
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