About
Michael has enjoyed an active career as a conductor, educator, and singer. He is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Superior where he conducts the UWS Singers and Chorale in addition to teaching courses in conducting, choral methods, and ear training. Prior to moving to the Twin Ports, Michael was the Director of Choral Activities at Clayton State University in Morrow, GA where he conducted the Chorale, the Collegium Vocale, and founded the Masterworks Chorus at Spivey Hall. Choirs under his direction have performed across the United States and internationally while receiving numerous honors and awards. He has prepared choruses for performances with Joe Miller, Annunziata Tomaro, Mark Gibson, and Joseph Flummerfelt. Recent conducting performances include Beethoven’s Chorfantasie, Mozart’s Requiem, David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning composition, the little match girl passion, Offenbach’s La Périchole, and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. Previous professional positions include Artistic Director of Musica, the premier chamber choir of Dayton, OH, and the Founder and Artistic Director of the Westminster Bach Consort. Michael has held church music positions in Georgia, Ohio, North Dakota, Virginia, and New Jersey. He is currently the Director of Choral Activities at First Lutheran Church in Duluth where he oversees an active and vibrant choral program.
Michael has sung professionally throughout the United States. He has performed with the Vocal Arts Ensemble, May Festival Chorus, and the Kinnara Ensemble. He has appeared as a baritone soloist with Princeton Pro Musica and the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra. In 2018 Michael performed Schubert’s song cycle Die schöne Müllerin at Spivey Hall with pianist Michiko Otaki.
Research Interests
Active in research, Michael’s interests include early music performance practice, the vocal music of J.S. Bach, and vocal pedagogy for the choral rehearsal. His doctoral dissertation was a choral application of vocal pedagogical principles titled A Conductor’s Guide to the Incorporation of ‘Bel Canto’ Methodology in the Choral Rehearsal. He has shared his research at regional and national conferences including a presentation for the National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conference on the cori spezzati compositions of Giovanni Gabrieli. Michael holds degrees in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey as well as a degree in Music Education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. He has studied conducting with René Clausen, Joe Miller, James Jordan, Andrew Megill, Earl Rivers, Brett Scott, and Mark Gibson.