David   Hayes - Director

David studied piano, violin, viola, clarinet, chamber music, theory and harmony at the Royal Irish Academy of Music for over 18 years and was awarded both the Coulson Scholarship and A.R.I.A.M. Diploma before plunging into a busy career that to date has included work as M.D., arranger, keyboard player and producer in live theatre, radio, TV and studio.
He spent 3 years with Riverdance - The Show as both Musical (and subsequently) Production Director and produced the soundtrack for Riverdance - Live at Radio City Music Hall N.Y. As Production Director, he was responsible for the setting up of the second and third companies and the artistic well-being of all three companies worldwide. Recording credits include work with Donal Lunny, Davy Spillane, Sinead O Connor, Phil Coulter (with whom he was Musical Director for 5 years), Brian Kennedy, Declan Masterson, Van Morrison, Kate Bush and Tommy Fleming for whom he has produced 3 platinum albums with Dara Records and a Live at St Patricks Cathedral DVD for Clann Records.
Film credits include Circle Of Friends, Music Directorship for Some Mother's Son and co-composer for The Sun, Moon and Stars (Blue Light Productions) and Up The Country (Asylum Productions). Additionally he has provided soundtracks for many documentaries by Kairos Productions and was responsible for the production music and opening sequences of two Eurovision Song Contests - 1994 & 1995.
Theatre credits include a commission to score the Abbey Theatre's production of The Hostage and conducting two chamber operas by Michael Scott based on Yeats' plays — Purgatory and The Dreaming of the Bones and original orchestrations for three musical theatre pieces - Silas Marner (Rupert Guinness Theatre, Dublin), Pentimenti (Theatre Royal, Waterford) and Brooklyn Bridge (Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork).
He was twice awarded "Best Musical Director" at the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera in 1994 for Chess and 2000 for JCS and has been nominated on two other occasions including 2003 for Guys n Dolls. He is no stranger to musical theatre with over 80 such productions to date including Carousel, Brigadoon, Cabaret, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of OZ, Godspell, Some Like It Hot, Chess, JCS, West Side Story, Anything Goes, Guys n Dolls, Fame, The Boyfriend, Me and My Girl and The Hot Mikado (Theatre Royal, Waterford - Sept 04),The Hired Man and West Side Story.
David has performed with and provided orchestrations for the R.T.E.C.O. on many occasions.
In April 2003 he was awarded a distinction by U.C.L.A. and Screen Training Ireland for the first two modules of the U.C.L.A. film scoring  programme.
Recent theatre work includes four seasons as Musical Director at the Cork Opera House for pantomime and its production of The Wizard of Oz and he has acted as Musical Director for Me & My Girl (Theatre Royal, Waterford) and for LMVG's production of West Side Story, for which he was awarded the AIMS 2003 Best Musical Director award.
He also played two seasons of Ragus- at the Olympia Theatre in 2002 and 2003. In December 2003, he was Musical Director
for the Irish premiere of The Snowman Publin City Theatre-SFX and Millennium Forum, Derry).    
He is a director of Goldenboy Productions Ltd. and also Musical Director for their production of Singin' In The Rain which had 3 successful runs to great critical acclaim both in Cork (EPT) and Dublin's Olympia Theatre, in association with MCD, during 2004.
In December 2004, he was both Musical Director and arranger for the Tommy Fleming Voice Of Hope concert at the Basilica m Knock, which was televised for PBS television in the US, featuring a full orchestra and guests including Eileen Ivers, Cam Dillon, Phil Coulter and others which is now released on both CD and DVD and has sold 100,000 copies in Ireland. (Post Production during 2005)
As a freelance musician, he is a member of IMRO and the recently formed Musician's Union of Ireland (M.U.I.).
Having just completed a Christmas run of Bugsy Malone at the Olympia, Dublin he is currently Musical Supervisor and arranger for I Keano.
He has been involved with Seagulls Dance for four years now and is very honoured to be directing. He is hugely appreciative of the team of people who have gathered together to present this piece - both on and offstage.