Eric Ziering

Board Member, Advisor & Mentor

Musical Theatre Keyboardist

Featured Activity

Musical Theatre Keyboards

I have played keyboards and/or music directed over 50 musical theatre productions in the last 50 years, with occasional stints on percussion instruments, accordion, and the like. I have plenty of experience with MainStage, RMS keyboards, and related technologies (and all the equipment to support them.) I love playing, and welcome inquiries pertaining to pit work, musical direction, auditions, rehearsals, or just about anything else. See below for a more detailed listing of my experience.

Past and Present

Retirement (2019 - Present)

Retirement is a blast. I'm playing keyboards every chance I get, learning to play the guitar, taking and leading courses at HILR, doing projects around the house, mentoring for STRIVE Boston and the Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston, traveling a bit, bicycling - either outdoors or via Zwift, and restoring my 1960s-era HO Slot Car race track and cars, and - of course - spending time with family and a new grandchild!

Board/Advisory Work (Ongoing)

Both before and after retirement I've served on advisory and governance boards and mentored entrepreneurs and other professionals. I was a Board Member for STRIVE Boston, a Business Strategy Advisor to Grover Pro Percussion and Trillium Solutions, Inc., and a member of the Technology Advisory Board for the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Late Career (2004 - 2019)

I spent the final 15 years of my professional career at Cambridge Systematics, where as Executive Vice President I led a software group that built large-scale information systems for Departments of Transportation and transit agencies around the country. If you've ever used an App to find out when the next bus or train is coming, you have the general idea.

Internet Boom (1998-2004)

The first internet boom was a busy time. I was Founder/CEO for a venture-funded search engine startup (Fact City), VP Engineering for a music software company (Cakewalk), and COO for a company that built large-scale content meta-tagging systems (Lingo Motors).

Early Years of GIS (1983-1997)

I spent 14 years as Founder and Vice President of Caliper Corporation, where I led the development of the first geographic information systems designed specifically for use on personal computers. Two of these products (TransCAD for transportation modeling; Maptitude for business analysis and redistricting) are still in wide use today.

Education (Long Ago)

I received BS and MS degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, where I studied Civil Engineering with an exclusive focus on Transportation Systems. Fortunately, I took some computer science courses along the way, which were fundamental to my work. Earlier, I was a proud graduate of Newton South High School.

Musical Theatre Keyboard Experience

I've done a lot of shows over the years, mostly at Vokes in Wayland, the late Turtle Lane Playhouse in Newton, Newton North High School, and MIT Musical Theatre Guild. Below is a listing of all the shows that I can recall. All were Keyboard gigs, unless I state otherwise.

More Recent Experience (21st Century)

SpongBob, the Musical, Dover-Sherborn Regional School, 2022
Honk!, Hopkinton High School, 2022
Tommy, Arlington High School, 2022
Mamma Mia, Dover-Sherborn Regional School, 2020 (COVID-postponed)
Disney's Newsies, Dover-Sherbord Regional School, 2019
Disney's Newsies, Xavarian Brothers High School, 2019
Mamma Mia, Melrose Drama, 2019
A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine, Vokes Players, 2018
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Concord Players, 2018
Chicago (Keyboard, Accordion), Vokes Players, 2017
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Vokes Players, 2016
Avenue Q, Vokes Players, 2014
Tommy, Turtle Lane Playhouse, 2012
Legally Blonde, Theatre Ink, Newton North High School, 2012
Curtains, Theatre Ink, Newton North High School, 2011
RENT, Brookline Stage, 2009
Into the Woods, Brookline Stage, 2009
A Man of No Importance, Vokes Players, 2008
Jekyll & Hyde, Newton Summer Stage, 2008
Violet, Newton Summer Stage, 2008
Parade, Newton Summer Stage, 2007
West Side Story, Theatre Ink, Newton North High School, 2007
Children of Eden, Newton Summer Stage, 2006
Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, Newton Summer Stage, 2005
Ragtime, Newton Summer Stage, 2004
Little Shop of Horrors, Theatre Ink, Newton North High School, 2004

Dates and Locations Uncertain: Milk & Honey, My Fair Lady, Annie Get Your Gun, Beauty and the Beast, Annie, Brigadoon, Cabaret, The Fantasticks, Fiddler on the Roof, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Oklahoma, Two by Two, Grease, Annie, Stop the World! I Want to Get Off

Less Recent Experience (20th Century)

Celebration, Hovey Players, 1998
Jesus Christ Superstar (MD/Keyboard), Xavarian Brothers High School, 1983
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (MD/Keyboard, Stage Director), Turtle Lane Playhouse, 1983
Pippin, Vokes Players, 1983
The Robber Bridegroom, MIT Musical Theatre Guild, 1983
Grease (MD/Keyboard), Catholic Memorial High School, 1983
1776 (Percussion, Harpsichord), Vokes Players, 1982
Godspell, Riverside Theatre Workshop, 1982
Hair (MD/Keyboard), Turtle Lane Playhouse, 1982
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (MD/Keyboard), Turtle Lane Playhouse, 1981
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Eunuch), Turtle Lane Playhouse, 1981
Jesus Christ Superstar, Turtle Lane Playhouse, 1981
Pippin, MIT Musical Theatre Guild, 1980
Razzle Dazzle, a Musical Review (MD/Keyboard), Boston Conservatory of Music, 1978
Guys and Dolls, MIT Musical Theatre Guild, 1978
Godspell (MD/Keyboard), MIT Musical Theatre Guild, 1977
Jacques Brel is Alive and Living in Paris (MD/Keyboard), 1977
Fiddler on the Roof, MIT Musical Theatre Guild, 1976
Celebration, MIT Musical Theatre Guild, 1975
1776 (Musical Director), MIT Musical Theatre Guild, 1975
The Me Nobody Knows (MD/Keyboard), Newton South High School, 1974

CONTACT ME

You can reach me via email using my first initial + last name at gmail dot com (with no spaces, of course.)