Beverly Benjamin Cole

Beverly Benjamin Cole is a 94 year old composer that currently resides in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a masters in piano and a minor in theory in 1952. After teaching as a professor at a few local colleges in the lower peninsula of Michigan, he moved to Michigan’s upper peninsula, and has been a resident there since the 1970s. For the majority of his time there, he was the church pianist for Community Bible Church in Strongs, MI.

His songs consist of five cycles set on texts ranging from A. E. Housman to the Psalms. Of particular note is his song cycle The Sun is in the South, which consists of five different settings of a poem written by his friend, Roderick O’Neall. While he is most known for his art songs, Cole has many compositions for orchestra, choir, piano, and others that have not yet been performed. 

–Jack Morin

This profile was created during the 2023-2024 academic year as part of the Song of America Fellowship Program, a project of the Classic Song Research Initiative between the Hampsong Foundation and the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.