David Paul Mesler is a multi-genre artist whose ensembles play … Read Full Bio ↴OVERVIEW
David Paul Mesler is a multi-genre artist whose ensembles play over 125 dates a year. An award-winning pianist and Emmy-nominated composer, David uses his classical training and 25 years as a professional jazz musician to explore jazz-classical hybrids in unconventional and dramatic ways. Virtuosic in the extreme, versatile in the extreme, and consistently inspired, David is now considered Northwest piano royalty and has been compared favorably to McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor, Ahmad Jamal, Thelonius Monk, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, and Bud Powell.
ON SAME BILL AS
David has performed on the same bill as Diane Schuur, The Manhattan Transfer, Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, Burt Bacharach, Lionel Richie, Debbie Gibson, Dinah Shore, Andy Williams, Barry Manilow, Sister Sledge, The Jackson 5, Skitch Henderson, Philip Glass, Lyle Lovett, and Bruce Hornsby. He has also played on the same bill as comedians Bob Hope, Victoria Jackson, Harvey Feirstein, Art Linklater, Senor Wences, Bob Eubanks, Garrison Keillor, and The Capitol Steps.
PLAYED FOR
David has played for three Presidents -- Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush, as well as a number of those running for the Oval Office -- Al Gore, John Kerry, and John Edwards. He has played for governors from across the country, and every Washington State Governor since the early 1960's. David has also played for Steven Spielberg, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Harrison Ford, Julie Harris, Tom Brokaw, Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Gene Kelly, Dudley Moore, and The Brat Pack, as well as for the casts and staff of Dynasty, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and the classic television comedies Good Times, The Jeffersons, Different Strokes, Love American Style, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island, and Bewitched.
FILM AND TELEVISION
The pianist for many films, David has worked on projects for Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, Touchstone, New Line Pictures, Handmade Films, and ABC, with such talent as John Travolta, Julie Andrews, Forest Whitaker, Michael Keaton, Genevieve Bujold, Louise Fletcher, Sonia Braga, Katie Holmes, Clive Owens, and Kids In The Hall. David's film credits include The Wrong Guy, Battlefield Earth, Eloise At The Plaza, Eloise At Christmastime, First Daughter, King Arthur, Sea Of Dreams, Finding Home, Dennis The Menace Strikes Again, The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants, and The Grudge 2. David's television credits include Days Of Our Lives, The Miracle Strip, The Seattle-Tacoma Interurban Railway, Pioneers In Aviation, Sun Microsystems, and The Day Elvis Met Nixon.
THE DAVE MESLER GROUP
The Dave Mesler Group is David's versatile and highly acclaimed jazz ensemble. The Group embraces and excels at a kaleidoscope of jazz styles -- swing, big band, blues, latin, bop, funk, free jazz, and pop and jazz standards. The Group is anywhere from a traditional 3-piece jazz piano trio (piano, bass, and drums), to a 12-piece band with vocals and horn sections. Instruments frequently substituted or added include vocals, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, violin, clarinet, flute, latin percussion, and guitar.
TRIO PRESTO
Trio Presto is David's classical ensemble, an elegant and mischievous group that specializes in Renaissance, Baroque, High Classical, and Romantic music, with the occasional piece of folk, pop, or jazz thrown in for a twist. The trio is comprised of two violins and piano, and makes for a rich, full-bodied and flexible alternative to the traditional string quartet. Other instruments frequently substituted or added include cello, viola, flute, oboe, bassoon, and trumpet.
VENUES AND CLIENTS
David's ensembles have played for a host of celebrities, politicians, and prominent philanthropists and business people. Recent venues and clients include ABC-Television, Benaroya Hall, Boeing, Columbia Tower Club, Disney Motion Pictures, Fairmont Olympic Hotel, The Golf Club at Newcastle, The Harbor Club, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Palisade, The Ruins, Safeco Field, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Repertory Theater, Seattle Tennis Club, Seattle Yacht Club, Sheraton Seattle, Smith Tower, Sorrento Hotel, Space Needle, Starbucks, United Way, University of Washington, Warner Brothers Motion Pictures, Washington Athletic Club, Washington Mutual Tower, Washington State Convention Center, Washington State University, and the Westin Hotel and Towers.
COMPOSER
In addition to being a busy performing artist, David is also a prolific composer of songs, and an in-demand, Emmy-nominated composer of symphonic, choral, and chamber works. As a composer, he has been compared favorably to George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Franz Schubert, Francois Poulenc, Ned Rorem, Samuel Barber, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Duke Ellington.
David's catalogue includes 5 orchestral works, 4 large-scale choral works, over 200 chamber pieces, over 200 solo instrumental pieces, and over 1500 art songs. He has also written 5 musicals, and 17 film scores. His compositions cover a wide spectrum and have been heard across the United States, in Canada, Korea, Japan, and Russia, and performed by many ensembles, including: Kronos Quartet, USC Symphony, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Bainbridge Chorale, Northwoods Wind Quintet, Seattle Chamber Players, Musicians Accord, Annex Theater, Abbey Theater, Foundation Theater Co-op., Circle X Theater, Hoover Street Music Company, Metropolitan String Quartet, Four Winds Quartet, Ensemble a Corda, Trio Presto, The Dave Mesler Group, a variety of performers and ensembles at USC, UCLA, Cal Arts, The University of Redlands, and the University of Washington, and members of the Seattle Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
David has been Composer-In-Residence with both the 80-piece Northwest Symphony Orchestra and the 100-voice Bainbridge Chorale. He has also been Composer-In-Residence with both the Highline and Bainbridge Island public school districts. He is Past-Vice President of the Washington Composers Forum and is a frequent contributor to the Seattle Composers Salons.
"I HEAR AMERICA SINGING!"
"I Hear America Singing!" is David's multi-album, 10,000 art song project, being created in collaboration with American mezzo soprano Barbara Hume. For more details, please visit ihearamericasing.com
TEACHER
David is currently on the music faculty of Seattle Central Community College where he teaches piano, voice, and composition and conducts both the Pop Vocal Ensemble and the New Music Ensemble. David's students have gone on to pursue music careers in Prague, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Korea, China, Switzerland, Sweden, and in many of the United States.
EDUCATION AND AWARDS
David received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Flora Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he garnered high praise from concert composers Jim Hopkins, Morton Lauridsen, Rick Lesemann, and Donald Crockett, as well as film composers David Raksin, Christopher Young, and Academy Award-winning film composers Elmer Bernstein, Buddy Baker and Jerry Goldsmith. Graduating Magna Cum Laude, David won numerous awards and scholarships including a Full-Tuition Scholarship, the USC Presidential Scholarship, the Pemco Foundation Scholarship, the Peter David Faith Memorial Award, the English Departmental Award, the Harry Warren Scholarship for Excellence in Scoring Motion Pictures and Television, and the USC Theory and Composition Departmental Award for Outstanding Composer and Contribution to the School of Music.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
David is a member of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC), the Golden Key Honor Society, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda, Professional Musicians--Local 47 (Los Angeles), Professional Musicians--Local 76-493 (Seattle), and the Society of Composers and Lyricists.
Love Is Here To Stay
David Paul Mesler Lyrics
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Not for a year, forever and a day
The radio and the telephone
And the movies that we know
They're all just passing fancies
That in time may go
Oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
In time the Rockies may crumble
Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
Oh, our love is here to stay
The lyrics to David Paul Mesler's song 'Love Is Here To Stay' tell a story of an unrelenting, steadfast love that will endure through the ages. The first two lines are a clear expression of the intensity of the love the singer feels, stating that it's not just temporary but will last forever. The next few lines talk about the fleeting nature of things like the radio, telephone, and movies that come and go with time. However, the love between the two people remains unchanged, undiminished, and eternal.
In the next stanza, the singer speaks directly to his beloved, assuring her that they will have a long journey together, and nothing can stop them. Even though the mountains may crumble and iconic structures like Gibraltar may fall, their love will endure because it's much stronger than any material object could ever be. This song paints a vivid picture of the power of love that goes beyond time and space, and that even the most indestructible things known to mankind will eventually erode and vanish.
Overall, the song is a beautiful ode to love that will stand the test of time and troubles, and a proclamation of lasting affection that will not be swayed by any passing fancy or fleeting interest.
Line by Line Meaning
Its very clear our love is here to stay
Our love will undoubtedly last forever and cannot be swayed
Not for a year, forever and a day
Our love is not temporary, it's permanent without any decay
The radio and the telephone
Technological devices that from memory are prone
And the movies that we know
Films that are just temporary and may come and go
They're all just passing fancies
The items of entertainment that don't stay but our love will be enhanced
That in time may go
From the limelight, they may fade and become low
Oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
My beloved, rest assured our love will never fade away
Together were going a long, long way
Our journey through life, forever in love, will proceed without delay
In time the Rockies may crumble
Despite the changes in nature's formations, our love cannot stumble
Gibraltar may tumble
Even if the mightiest landmark tumbles, our love won't crumble
They're only made of clay
These structures are temporary and can crumble into dust and clay
Oh, our love is here to stay
Our love is eternal, it will never fade, perish or decay
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind