William Kurk

William Kurk (born July 30, 1981) is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, songwriter, producer, and arranger from Chicago, IL. He is an independent recording artist with four commercial studio albums. In 2011, he released a concert video on DVD featuring his band, the William Kurk Enterprise.
Family and Early Life
Kurk was born on the south side of Chicago at Mercy Hospital. He is the son of William Kirk Leathers, Sr., a professional drummer and music teacher, and Beverly McLin, a vocalist, bassist, and staff songwriter for Curtom Records. Kurk’s grandmother is Dr. Lena Mclin, an accomplished music educator, composer, arranger, and pianist, who has taught music for over 40 years, and whose students have included R. Kelly, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Hudson, Mark Rucker, Mandy Patinkin, and Aaliyah.
Education
Kurk started formal vocal training under his grandmother, Lena Mclin, at the age of 13.
Career
By age 19, Kurk was working as a session keyboardist. His first major studio work was with Tom Washington, an arranger for Earth, Wind, & Fire and Genesis. Around that time, Kurk also started working at Black Ensemble Theater in Chicago as a full-time pianist/instrumentalist.
Kurk has been music director for several Chicago area theater productions, including the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theater’s 2007 production of Sarafina! The Music of Liberation!, for which Kurk was nominated for a Black Theater Alliance Award for "Best Musical Director.” Also in 2007, Kurk was music director of MPAACT’s “Trouble the Water,” which was awarded a Black Theater Alliance Award for “Best Production.”
Recordings
Kurk’s first recording, Superego, a limited-pressing EP released in June 1999, contained seven tracks of original music produced and written by Kurk, with co-production by his mother, Beverly McLin.
Kurk has released four full-length CD’s: The Sound: Vol.1 (2004), The Sound: Vol.2 (2007),
Discography
*Superego (1999)
*The Sound: Vol.1 (2004)
*The Sound: Vol.2 (2007)
*The Sound: Vol.3 (2009)
*Pop Fusion (2011)
Video
*William Kurk Enterprise: Live In Chicago - DVD (2011)

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