May 2019 Guest Night 

Leeds Bird

Kevin Cole

WORDS AND MUSIC -- HOW TO WRITE A SHOW TUNE—OR TWO   was performed by Leeds Bird and Kevin Cole. They have worked together on dozens of productions, many professional and many local. They used their experiences to entertain and show us how songs are written for musicals. In addition to their original songs, they considered Richard Rodger’s music with his two strongest collaborators: Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein. 

Leeds Bird, a native of Bay City, was graduated from Michigan State University with a master’s degree in theatre. For 30 years, Leeds taught theatre, public speaking, and English at the secondary level.  For twelve years, he performed as Mark Twain in school assembly programs in the Middle West and New England with over 500 performances.
Leeds served in the Army with the bulk of his service in Germany. He has served on boards of directors with the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Bay Arts Council, Studio 23/The Arts Center, and Bay City Players. He is an honorary president of Bay City Players.

Kevin Cole, a Bay City native, is graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy. A pianist of international repute, he has performed to sold-out performances with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl; BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall; National Symphony, Kennedy Center. Major concert venues include: San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Boston Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Edmonton Symphony (Canada).
He has shared the concert stage with opera greats William Warfield and Sylvia McNair, as well as Broadway legends Barbara Cook and Marvin Hamlisch.