JIM RICE (music director/arranger/ pianist), of Lynn, MA, is an accomplished and diverse music director, arranger, and pianist.

Mr. Rice is the creator and music director for a tribute show, Primavera, which celebrates the Las Vegas years of Louis Prima & Keely Smith. Primavera is backed by a seven-piece band and was recently honored with the 2005 IRNE award (Independent Reviewers of New England). Primavera has been performed at numerous premiere venues including The Big Arts Theatre in Sanibel Island, FL; The Center For The Arts in Natick, MA; The Regattabar in Boston, MA; and The Fox Theatre at Foxwoods Casino in CT.

Jim has an impressive array of theatre credits. Abroad, Jim has been the musical conductor for the European-Broadway tour of Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera, as well as pianist for the Broadway production of Grease in Zurich. He has also toured nationally with Man of La Mancha and Camelot. Recently, he musically directed and worked alongside creator/director Ted Swindley in a production of Always Patsy Cline at Stoneham Theatre in Massachusetts. Other theatres Jim has music directed and/or conducted at include The American Stage Festival (NH), Olney (MD), North Shore Music Theatre (MA) Kansas City Starlight (MO); The Tennessee Williams Fine Art Center (FL); Ogunquit Playhouse (ME) as well as The Westside Arts and Westbank Theatres (NYC). Locally, he has served as music director for The New England premieres of My Way and Chicago at theWorcester Foothills Theatre. His original music and arrangements are also featured in Worcester Foothill's annual production of A Christmas Carol.

Jim also regularly accompanies, directs, and/or arranges for Boston and national cabaret/jazz artists Carol O'Shaughnessy, John O'Neil, Jan Peters, Jim Porcella, Richard Skipper, Valerie Sneade, and Ida Zecco. Jim Rice is also the musical director and arranger for the Three Swingin' Tenors comprising of national recording artists Jim Porcella, Steve Marvin, and Jack Allessi. He also directed and arranged The Music of Ernie Lijoi which was presented at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston as well as Danny's Skylight in New York City. Jim recently performed Ida Zecco's critically acclaimed Estro-gin & Tonic at Jimmy Tingles Off Broadway Theatre in Boston as well as The Duplex in New York City. He wrote the orchestrations for So Kaye: The Songs of Danny Kaye which has been performed by John O'Neil at a multitude of venues across the country including MusicFest, one of the country's largest music festivals in Bethlehem, PA.

Jim has also musically directed and arranged numerous shows for Valerie Sneade including The Streisand Songbook, The Valerie Sneade Show and her debut CD Let Me Be Strong. Jim received great critical acclaim for his work on this CD. His arrangements have been described as "marvelous" by The Boston Herald and "sophisticated and richly-crafted" by Cabaret Scenes in New York City. Sneade has recently commissioned Jim to write orchestrations for two upcoming performances she has this year with The Charlotte Symphony in FL and The Thayer Symphony in MA.

This holiday season, Jim will be performing Songs For The Season with Ida Zecco at The Log Cabin and Delaney House in Holyoke, MA. In 2006, he will be orchestrating this very same show for her guest performances with The Thayer Symphony this December.

Jim annualy contributes orchestrations to the Key West Florida POPS for Female Impersonator Extraordinaire Mr. Randy Roberts. Jim has written numerous orchestrations for singers including Broadway's Brent Barrett and Leroy Reams. These arrangements have been performed by many orchestras including the Festival of the Atlantic in NJ; Thayer Symphony in Leominster, MA; The Hartford Symphony in CT; and The Albany Symphony in NY.