On this page, Michael introduces himself in his own words, and shares links to his music, his website, and his social media platforms. We warmly invite programmers and commissioners to take a closer look at Michael’s work, and please be in touch with us if you would like to connect with him.

About Michael

'My life as a composer involves many different, often exceptionally contrasting, settings - from composing intricate concert hall work alone at home to devising new opera with young people who may have never experienced the artform before. Therefore I am often led by the contexts in which I work and what is brought to those contexts by my collaborators, whoever they may be!

The majority of my output to date has been vocal and opera music, often working collaboratively with communities and leisure-time music makers, bringing their ideas to life. I have created large scale work in this vein for Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, BBC Philharmonic, Cheltenham Festivals, Den Jyske Opera (Danish National Opera), London Symphony Orchestra, Opera North and others. I also have created several pieces for my own open access choir The Sunday Boys working in collaboration with writers such as Andrew McMillan and Rebecca Hurst.

My influences are - as you may expect - eclectic, but storytelling and energy are key to the music I love, so composers such as Benjamin Britten, Caroline Shaw, Gabriel Kahane, John Adams, Jonathan Dove, Stephen Sondheim and Steve Martland are amongst my inspirations.'

Highlights

• 2019 Across the Sky - a community opera for Cheltenham Festivals co-created with communities in the local area, many of whom had not connected with the festival or new music before, shortlisted for the RPS Impact Award.
• 2018 #echochamber - a 75-minute Anglo-Icelandic interactive Twitter Opera premieres in Reykjavik and later tours to England. Nominated for an Icelandic Music Award with one reviewer describing it as marking 'a milestone in opera productions in Iceland'.
• 2016 The Sunday Boys is formed: in order to meet new people and do something for Manchester's LGBTQ+ community, I formed a low-voice, open-access LGBTQ+ choir in a bar in Manchester's gay village. Since then, we have commissioned a wide range of composers including Philip Venables, Kerry Andrew and Anna Appleby and have performed across the country and beyond. We also perform some of my work in collaboration with writer Andrew McMillan. One of our pieces the sunday boys is shortlisted for ISCM's World Music Days.
• 2015 Market Songs - an hour-long vocal installation for massed voices for the Salisbury International Festival. 200+ voices filled the city's market square celebrating its long and rich trade history.

Find out more

If you are interested in finding out more about Michael, hearing and and keeping up to date with his work, take a look at his social media below:

• Twitter
• Soundcloud
  

The 2023 RPS Composers programme is made possible with support from RPS Members, Delius Trust, the Elgar Bursary Fund, The Fidelio Charitable Trust, Garrick Charitable Trust, PRS Foundation's The Open Fund, the Radcliffe Trust, the RVW Trust, and several anonymous donors.