Composer/Songwriter

“I have had the pleasure of getting to know Ernie Bird and his music for the past year. […] From listening to the very first notes, I knew Ernie’s musical voice could invoke character and string dramatic arcs in a special and unique way. Ernie brings both craft and instinct to each new piece, resulting in music theater that feels fresh and exciting.”
– Zach Redler, Composer (The Falling and The Rising, The Memory Show)

“Ernie Bird is an original, a gifted musical storyteller who writes bold and emotionally stirring compositions”
– Michael Wartofsky, Musical Theatre Composer (Car Talk: The Musical!!!, Cupcake)

Broadcast Media & Commercial Theatre

Musical Theatre

Pop Songwriting

Classical Compositions

Scoring for Film, Broadcast Media & Background Music

Training includes:

  • Reinhold Glière Kyiv Municipal Academy of Music (pre-college)
  • Berklee College of Music, B.M. (half-tuition scholarship)
  • NYU Tisch, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, M.F.A. (full-scholarship)
  • Currently: BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop
  • Mentorship & private lessons by Adam Guettel since December 2021

Most notable awards include:

  • Winner of the International Songwriting Competition 2012, Nashville.
  • Semi-finalist of the International Songwriting Competition of 2013, 2017 and 2018, Nashville.
  • Finalist of the Curtain Up Musical Theatre Songwriting Competition of 2017 and 2020 (2021), Boston.
  • Finalist of the Theatre Now New York Sound Bites Festival, NYC, 2020 (2022).
  • EB1A Extraordinary Ability in the Arts Green Card holder based on achievements in Musical Theatre Composition and Writing.

Ernie Bird is also a guest composer at Columbia University’s MFA Playwriting Program. His songs were performed by Wicked’s Kara Lindsay and GBBO’s Matt Lucas, and featured on Apple Podcasts, the NYT, and Chicago Sun-Times.