About Michael

Music has been the driving force and passion in my life for as long as I can remember.

As a young boy in Madison at Midvale Elementary, I had the good fortune of taking piano lessons with a teacher just down the block in our Westmorland neighborhood. Her name was Liza Bliss; she indeed encouraged me to “follow my bliss” and I was inspired and encouraged through my studies with her as a young boy. I continued my studies through high school in Madison studying under Dolores Mittler Fredrickson. Later piano studies included St. Olaf College and the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where I accompanied a multitude of classical vocal artists and earned a Masters Degree in Vocal Accompanying.

Following my collegiate and graduate studies, I pursued further professional activities as a pianist and vocal coach including work at the San Francisco Opera, The Santa Fe Opera and other U.S. Opera Companies and performing as accompanist for a vocal recital at Carnegie Hall. After 8 years working for the premiere musical artist management company in New York City, IMG Artists, I then served as Artistic Administrator for the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. My highest honor there was as Producer of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd in Concert” starring Patti LuPone, George Hearn, Neil Patrick Harris, & Company. Mr. Sondheim learned of our production, and wanted it filmed for posterity and television on PBS. The telecast was then nominated for, and won, the Emmy Award in its category.

I eventually moved back to Madison to care for my elderly parents; it was an honor and a privilege, and I now continue to follow my bliss (and honor my first piano teacher, Liza Bliss), by playing for clients, organizations, and more across the Madison and southern Wisconsin area. Music has enriched my life more deeply than anything else, and my goal is to enrich others’ lives with my playing.