Erich Van Tourneau - Musical Director/Arranger For 'Viva Elvis'

ERICH VAN TOURNEAU
Musical Director and Arranger

"I am a big fan of sampling. I use the mixing of styles, periods and cultures to create music that is organic and personal."
—Erich Van Tourneau

When Erich first heard Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis at the age of 15 he was blown away by the rock legend’s fiery piano playing and got interested in the roots of rock and roll. He later studied with renowned Canadian pianists to broaden his musical horizons and deepen his knowledge of music history.

Erich was soon working as a freelance musician on stage, studio and television projects for many of the top award-winning artists in Quebec pop music. He found himself on stage in European and Japanese festivals as well as big events closer to home such as the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal and the Quebec Summer Festival. His performances with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at Place des Arts in Montreal are a highlight of his career.

Over the years Erich accumulated an impressive track record of original music and began to record. He took on a dozen writing and production projects, each very different from the next, and his expertise led him to create advertising jingles in the United States and the theme song for Canadian Football League team. He has been nominated for and won awards from the Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque (ADISQ) and the Indie Awards held in Toronto.

Erich loves the myriad undertones of soul and always comes back to gospel music, funk and rhythm and blues – the roots of Presley’s own music. Viva ELVIS is his first association with Cirque du Soleil.

“The leitmotif that guided me throughout the entire creative process was to ask myself, ‘what would the songs of Elvis be like if he were doing them for the first time today?’” he says. “I set out to evoke the soul and the spirit of Elvis Presley, while building a bridge between his music and future generations of fans."

Erich van Tourneau was born in Montreal in 1973.


Brian :D

I'm having high hopes for a good Elvis CD/DVD release coming out from this.

The Bealtes own Soleil rework on their material, made of "Love", never something to replace the original music, but gave us a fresher and fun perspective of it, plus the DVD had superb visuals adding to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raised on Rock

I'm having high hopes for a good Elvis CD/DVD release coming out from this.

The Bealtes own Soleil rework on their material, made of "Love", never something to replace the original music, but gave us a fresher and fun perspective of it, plus the DVD had superb visuals adding to it.

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Sony are going to give the CD (released in September) a major worldwide push and are expecting sales to be similar to the 30 Nio.1's release.

Brian :D

Yeah!!!

Can't wait to see the visuals on the 5.1 audio DVD edition!!!