Kevin has resided in New York City since 2015, where he is conducting and playing musical theater productions around the nation.  While he is focusing most of his time on productions in NYC, he also enjoys teaching, singing and performing.  

Kevin was born in Lincoln, Nebraska where he started singing at church in 4th Grade.  Sister Mary Schroer was the church organist and started asking Kevin to cantor at Mass on a regular basis.  During this time, he also began taking piano lessons as well as joining the band. He became enthralled with making music and continued singing and playing through his formative years.

At the age of 12, Kevin’s family relocated to Council Bluffs, Iowa.  His family would travel across the Missouri river to Omaha, Nebraska to attend St. Agnes’ Church.  At that time there was an absence of music at the Sunday Masses, so his mother Eileen offered Kevin’s talents to assist in making music for celebration.  However, at this point it would take him a week to learn a single hymn and there was only an organ in the church.  So, Kevin decided to bring his 49-key keyboard and practice amp to the choir loft, plugged it in and this is what the congregation would sing with.  Upon arrival one Sunday morning, the power was out in the choir loft warranting the keyboard useless.  The church Pastor offered the organ as a means to make music, but Kevin had never played on an instrument of that size and scale.  However, from all the years watching Sister Mary Schroer, he knew he could figure things out.  For the next 12 years, Kevin became a church organist for three churches in the Omaha area.  

After high school, Kevin attended The University of Nebraska at Omaha where he earned a degree in K-12 Music Education endorsed in both Choral and Instrumental music.  He was approached by his mother about a music teaching position at Catholic Academy, a K-8 school in Omaha, NE.  They were in need of a music teacher but struggling to find someone.  At the age of 17, Kevin applied and to his surprise they gave him the job.  He started teaching elementary music during his first semester of college.  He would take his core classes in the morning and travel to the school in the afternoons to teach music.  Kevin thoroughly enjoyed bringing music to the youth and was recruited by two other schools before graduating with his degree.  One of the institutions was a position with St. Cecilia Cathedral’s Schola Cantorum.  He started as the Boy’s Choir director and throughout his 8 years became the Assistant Director of the entire music program.

During Kevin’s undergraduate studies we was fortunate to sing under the baton of Dr. Z. Randall Stroope, studied piano with Dr. James Johnson and studied voice with Professor Wendy Eaton.  All of these instructors made major impacts on Kevin’s musical journey.  Kevin also started singing professional with the Omaha Chambers Singers (NE), Abendchor (NE), Spire Chamber Ensemble (MO), and Sounding Light (MI).  Between the years 2005-2007 Kevin was selected to sing at Carnegie Hall for three professional training workshops with maestros Helmuth Rilling (St. Matthew Passion– Bach & Die Schöpfung - Haydn) and Ton Koopman (Dettingen te deum - Handel, Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day - Handel).  He has also performed as an Opera Chorister with Opera Omaha for over 12 productions. 

Founding Music Director for Résonance (2012-2015), a premier vocal ensemble, comprised of multi-talented, semiprofessional singers whose mission is to engage, inspire and challenge those they entertain through eclectic and innovative vocal music performances and compelling collaborations. During this time the ensemble grew from an 8-member ensemble to a 12-member ensemble, performing frequently with the leading arts organizations in the area. The ensemble released their first album in 2020.

Throughout Kevin’s college years, he would perform in local theater productions.  At the age of 23 he received his first professional contract with the Omaha Theater for Performing Arts at The Rose Theater.  Three years later he became a resident Music Director/Conductor, conducting over 20 productions in the beautiful 1,000-seat renovated vaudeville theater.  At this time in his career he fell in love with the beauty between story meeting music and the powerful affect it has on our society. 

In 2011 Kevin started music directing at McLeod Summer Playhouse in Carbondale, Illinois.  A few years later he moved up to Musical Supervisor and held that position until leaving the summer of 2019.  During his first two summers at McLeod he noticed the excellence in the production quality and musical staff of the adjoined Southern Illinois University.  In 2013 Kevin left Nebraska and embarked on a new journey to Southern Illinois University where he received a double Masters degree in Opera/Musical Theater and Vocal Performance.  While at SIU he music directed the mainstage musicals, performed in the mainstage operas and student produced plays.  Kevin also focused on studying the Rock/Pop music genre and how to pedagogically teach healthy singing in these styles.  During his final semester he flew to Ann Arbor, Michigan and coached some of Shubert’s Schwanenhesang, as well as George Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad with the collaborative pianist Martin Katz.  Kevin graduated with honors and was the 2015 recipient of the Archie award for best actor.

Photographer: Carrington Spires