Leon Cole (December 29, 1939 - December 5, 2019) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

musician and radio broadcaster, best known as the host of the classical music program ''RSVP'' on

CBC Stereo CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

from 1985 to 1995."CBC Radio host returns to record broadcast". ''

Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published five days a week, from Tuesday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postmedia. It has ...

'', February 7, 1992. Prior to joining the CBC as a broadcaster, Cole studied music at the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

."Popular RSVP host Leon Cole stepping away from mike". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', April 5, 1994. He worked as a church organist and choir director, as well as composing orchestral music and documentary film scores. He was first heard on the CBC as the host of ''Sound Track'', before taking over from

David Lennick David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

as host of ''RSVP'' in 1985. He was the father of jazz singer

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

."Holly Cole's magnificent obsession; Vocalist's full-throated sound getting ample airplay across the country". '' Edmonton Journal'', November 10, 1990.

References

1939 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian pianists 20th-century organists 21st-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian pianists 21st-century organists CBC Radio hosts Classical music radio presenters Canadian film score composers Canadian organists Male organists Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Male film score composers {{Canada-radio-bio-stub