Curtis Heard is the choir director and composer-in-residence at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach, and for 34 years taught choir, musical theater and piano at Wilson High School. (Recent productions include “Seussical”, “Grease”, “Mamma Mia”, and “Into the Woods”.) He has had a long relationship with MTW and is thrilled to be a part of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. He is also called upon from time to time to play piano, celeste or synth with the Pacific Symphony. (Recent performances include Carmina Burana and American Ballet Theater’s “Winter’s Tale”.) His compositions include works for choir, solo keyboard, and theatrical productions. “October Mourning: a song for Matthew Shepherd” for choir, soloists, narration and Orchestra, (a setting of the book by Leslèa Newman) has been performed several times locally, and by Heartland Sings in Fort Wayne, IN. A 2023 performance at the Beverly O’Neal Theater involved readers from Long Beach Landmark Theater, the South Coast Chorale, the Sanctuary Choir from First Church, the Long Beach Youth Chorus, the Wilson High School Choir, and the orchestral ensemble Musique de la Mer.