Meet Thomas Tierney

A composer and lyricist working in New York City

 


 

Inspiration doesn’t strike very often, but when it does, you need to be there.

-Oscar Hammerstein II

Tierney composed the music for NARNIA, based on C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, which has played in The City of London Festival, Off-Broadway in New York, and in more than 1000 productions throughout the US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. His Narnia Suite for symphony orchestra and four singers premiered at New York's Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. He wrote music and lyrics for Jungle Queen Debutante, produced for New York’s NYMF Festival and by Seattle’s Village Theatre. He contributed several songs (music and lyrics) for Off-Broadway’s Pets! and the music for The Dream Team (Goodspeed Opera) and Tommy Tune’s one-man musical, Ichabod (Boston and New York).

Another musical of Tierney’s, ELEANOR - An American Love Story, has played in many US theaters, including Ford’s Theatre in Washington (two Helen Hayes Awards), Chicago's Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Seattle’s Village Theatre (Issaquah, WA), the historic Barter Theatre in Virginia, and the Pittsburgh Public Theatre. His musical The Year of Living Dangerously, based on the novel that became the film starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Oscar-winner Linda Hunt, was presented in concert at Feinstein’s/54 Below in NYC in 2017. Current projects include Diamond and the North Wind, based on the classic novel At The Back of The North Wind by George MacDonald, and A Girl’s Guide to Moving On (with co-author Joseph Robinette), based on the novel by best-selling author Debbie Macomber. 

Beyond musicals for adult humans, Tierney has also written several for young audiences which include The Tuesday Afternoon RegularsThe Fabulous Fable Factory, and its sequel, The Fantastic Return of the Fabulous Fable Factory — all with co-writer Joseph Robinette. TheatreworksUSA has commissioned and toured six of his musicals nationally, including The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (which toured nationally for 25 years). His musicals are published by Dramatic Publishing and Concord Theatricals (Rodgers & Hammerstein).

For television, Tierney has written two scores for NBC's Emmy Award-winning series Unicorn Tales and the theme music for We Remember Eleanor, narrated by Margaret Truman Daniels. He’s also written music and lyrics for corporate conventions and events, including those for Coca-Cola, Astra USA, IBM, Oral-B and State Farm Insurance. He composed “Bringing the World Closer to You,” the theme song for AT&T's pavilion at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center which played 144 times a day for 10 years!

Tierney was born in Missouri and raised in Illinois. He started composing in the 5th Grade, and since seeing The King and I film in high school, he hasn't stopped putting stories and songs together. He attended the University of Illinois Champagne-Urbana where he graduated with an MS degree in advertising. After that, he completed an MA in broadcasting and worked toward a PhD in communications before the siren song of New York City pulled him there. He’s been composing for New York shows ever since.

Tierney has performed his own music at Lincoln Center in New York and at the White House in Washington. He has won numerous ASCAP awards and is listed in Who's Who in Entertainment. He served on the Board of Governors at the New York Television Academy and is a member of ASCAP and The Dramatist’s Guild.