Preorder New Balance Record, And Two Release Shows

Friends,

Today’s a special day. I’m grateful to share with you some new music from Balance, my collaborative duo with Marcus Elliot:

Balance: Live at the Congregation

Artwork by Leander Hope Lemon

The full album goes live in one week, on Friday April 5. We’re releasing one track and opening preorder today. For now, this is a digital-only release.

This album documents a magical set last December at The Congregation, when we played with YIMES. Every once in a while, the vibes are just right and you put together a set that you’re really proud of. That’s what this one is. It’s a notably different sound than both of our previous releases — whereas we’ve mostly worked acoustically in the past, this record finds us navigating electronics alongside our instruments. I hope you’ll come along for the journey with us.

---

We’re celebrating with two shows next weekend

On Friday April 5, we’re playing a very rare trio set with one of our heroes: drummer and master musician Gerald Cleaver! If you’re in Northern Michigan, catch us at the Alluvion. Tickets are on sale now and going fast.

Then on Saturday April 6, we’re coming back to Detroit to play a duo set at what’s soon going to be our favorite hometown venue: the still-in-the-process-of-opening Moondog Cafe. This is one of the first shows at this incredible space. Opening set by King Sophia. No preorder for this show — door sales only.

That’s all for now. Thanks for affording me the privilege of sharing this work with you. It means a lot. Hope to see you out there.

Till soon,

-Michael

Marcus and I, performing the set we’re releasing. Photo by John Mark Hanson.

Cavafy Replay -- Balance Mini Tour -- Detroit Shows

Hi friends,

Popping in to share with you some exciting happenings. This is sort of a long one, but there just happens to be a lot going on:

World Premiere Performance Now On YouTube

My recent song cycle, Another Shore, Another Country, based on the poetry of C.P. Cavafy, premiered on February 3rd in a concert presented by ProMusica Detroit. This concert was special beyond words — not only did I get to premiere a new (and big) original work, but I also got to perform the music of Mikis Theodorakis, a rare joy for me.

You can now view that entire show online! Check it out below.

Some timestamps to guide your viewing:

18:10 - my solo piano composition Hold Tightly Your Vision of How Things Could Be

33:14: Constantine Novotny, Ellie Falaris Ganelin (our special guest from the San Fransisco-based Greek Chamber Music Project), and I performing the music of Mikis Theodorakis

1:08:22: Another Shore, Another Country - myself and Constantine premiering my new composition based on the poetry of C.P. Cavafy

FYI: Constantine and I are currently devising a new evening-length program that will feature Another Shore, Another Country alongside other selections for piano solo and piano/voice. We’ll be booking it for 2024-2025 and beyond. If you or someone you know are interested in presenting this, send me an email.

Balance Mini Tour and Other News

Balance is getting ready for a big 2024. We’re hitting the road for two dates in Southern Ontario:

Friday 3/22 - workshop at University of Guelph

Friday 3/22 - Silence (Guelph). With Matthew Endahl.
Tickets here

Saturday 3/23 - Sellers & Newel (Toronto).
Tickets here

We also have a big surprise coming at the end of March/beginning of April. And a Detroit show in the works for that time too. But I’ll reach out about all that soon.

Detroit Happenings - Hear No Evil, Other Tones

Two exciting events that I’m putting together in Detroit in a couple of weeks:

I’ve been curating Other Tones, a little series of quarterly-ish concerts, for the last few years. This installment is going to be one of the best yet. Extremely limited space in this magical venue.

Jessica Ackerley (Hawai’i)
Patrick Behnke (Los Angelos)
Teiku (Detroit/Chicago)

Thursday 3/14 7:00pm
Huckleberry Club
2660 Buchanan, Detroit
$10

Hear No Evil, my new monthly residency at Motor City Wine, is entering its third installment. We’ve been having so much fun and playing to great audiences. Come early to get a seat. This month:

Zekkereya El-magharbel - trombone
Jonathan Barahal Taylor - drums
Noah Jackson - bass
MM - piano

Friday 3/15 8:00pm
Motor City Wine
1949 Michigan Ave., Detroit
$5 at the door (you can’t beat that price)

That’s all for now. Thanks again for your patient ears and kind souls.

Till soon,

Michael

Early 2024 Happenings

Friends,

I’ve got some great and diverse early 2024 happenings in Detroit. If you’re in the area, drop by and say hello:

Virago x Michael Malis: Listening From Darkness
Wednesday January 17, 7:00pm, Free
Wayne State University, Shaver Recital Hall (Enter on Hancock)

Myself and Virago are in residence at WSU giving a talk to their composition department, and afterwards we’ll perform my piece From Darkness We Awaken alongside Harriet Steinke’s Listening For Bells. The concert is free and open to the public.

---

Hear No Evil 001
Friday January 19, 8:00pm, $5 at the door
Motor City Wine, 1949 Michigan Ave, Detroit

Catch the debut of a new series that I’m launching at one of Detroit’s most iconic venues. Starting in January, I’ll be hosting Hear No Evil at Motor City Wine. Every third Friday of the month, catch a rotating ensemble of Detroit’s finest, with special guests every month. See you there.

Zekkereya El-magharbel - trombone || Jaribu Shahid - bass
Jonathan Barahal Taylor - drums || MM - piano

---

World Premiere of Another Shore, Another Country
Featuring Constantine Novotny and Ellie Falaris Ganelin
Sunday February 4, 2:00pm, $35 ($5 students)
Grosse Pointe War Memorial

Get your tickets now for the world premiere of my new song cycle Another Shore, Another Country, based on the poetry of C.P. Cavafy and featuring baritone Constantine Novotny. Tickets are going fast.

Also on the program: a set of songs by Mikis Theodorakis featuring flutist Ellie Falaris Ganelin of the Greek Chamber Music Project (San Francisco).

Lastly, I’ve got a bunch new events with various projects announced on my website — Detroit, Washington DC, Maryland, Guelph, Toronto, Traverse City, and beyond, with more to be announced soon. Take a look if you’re in any of those places.

Hope to see you out there.

Till soon,

-Michael

Looking Ahead: a Major New Work

Hi friends,

Popping in one last time before the end of the year to share with you an early 2024 happening that I’ve been sitting on for a while:

ProMusica Detroit has commissioned me to compose a major new work

Another Shore, Another Country: a song set based on the poetry of seminal Greek-Alexandrian poet C.P. Cavafy.

• Rising star baritone Constantine Novotny is premiering this piece alongside myself at the piano

• San Fransisco-based flautist and director of the Greek Chamber Music Project Ellie Falaris Ganelin will perform songs by legendary Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, alongside Constantine and myself

• I’ll perform my solo piano composition Hold Tightly Your Vision of How Things Could Be (a piece which also recently got me thinking about my personal relationship to Hellenism)

• And we’ll also hear some lovely chamber selections by Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Korngold

Why Cavafy?

If you’re familiar with Cavafy’s poetry, the answer is probably self evident — it seems that to know Cavafy is to love Cavafy. And if you’re not familiar, I’m so excited to be able to introduce you to his rare genius. As perhaps the most consequential Greek poet of the 20th century, Cavafy’s poetry embodies many things: he is enigmatic, private, urgent, personal, queer, and transgressive. He deals in the magnitude of myth, but his writing is grounded in the minutiae of the present. He is diasporic, global, and transcendent — carrying with him ghosts, ancestors, and wisdom.

But don’t take my word for it. Read Cavafy’s words yourself:

Body, remember not only how much you were loved,
not only the beds on which you lay,
but also those desires which for you
plainly glowed in the eyes,
and trembled in the voice -- and some
chance obstacle made them futile.
Now that all belongs to the past,
it is almost as if you had yielded
to those desires too -- remember,
how they glowed, in the eyes looking at you;
how they trembled in the voice, for you, remember, body.

Body, Remember (C.P. Cavafy)

Writing music to his poetry is a dream come true. It’s given me a chance to reconnect with my Greek heritage and allowed me to live in the “sumptuous mausoleum” of Cavafy’s works. I’ve been dreaming about this project for years, and telling anybody who would listen that this was one of my biggest dreams.

I can’t wait to share it with you. If you’re local, I’d really love to see you there. If you’re not local, I think it will be live streamed (definitely recorded.)

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you all. Wishing you all peace, health, safety, and thriving in the Earth’s next revolution.

-Michael

Two Good Ones To Close 2023

Friends,

Popping in to share with you my two final performances of 2023. One in Detroit and one in Cambridge MA (with a livestream link.) Both are going to be special.

TONIGHT (Wednesday December 6) see Harvard University’s Contemporary Chamber Music Final Concert, where you can hear their performance of my piece Nourishment, under the directorship of Prof. Claire Chase. If you’re local to the Boston area, you can go and hear it in person — for everyone else, there’s a livestream (link below.) Also on the program: Kaija Saariaho, Christopher Stark, and Felix Treiber. It’s an honor be included amongst such incredible company!

Contemporary Chamber Music: Final Concert for Music 186
December 6, 8:00pm
John Knowles Paine Concert Hall
3 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Free

---

On Friday December 8, join Balance at The Congregation (Detroit) as we support our friends Yimes (John Mark Hanson, Andrew Taetz) on their record release tour. Their music is spacious and dreamy, and this show will be a balm. Link to preorder tickets below.

Note: this is Balance’s last show of 2023, and it’s also my last performance of 2023. If you’re local, it would be a pleasure to spend some time with you.

YIMES album release concert with Balance
December 8, doors at 7:30pm
The Congregation
9321 Rosa Parks Blvd, Detroit, MI 48206
$10-15

---

2023 has been a doozy — on the heels of 2 record releases in 2022, I spent more time performing than I had in a long time. This included a big tour for Balance (a 7 show tour is big for me), performances at festivals, local shows, radio appearances, and more. Balance’s record Conjure sold out of its first pressing. My record with Virago, From Darkness We Awaken, charted on a college radio station for a brief moment. I had really fun and successful shows with my trio, and some very satisfying solo performances.

I was lucky to have a chance to create new music — my large ensemble composition In Search of Softer Selves was premiered at Edgiest in Ann Arbor with support from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. My collaborative piece Retreat for organ and French Horn with Zara Teicher was presented as part of my concert series Other Tones.

And I grew into a new role as an educator, taking on the position of Visiting Instructor of Jazz Piano at Interlochen Arts Academy.

2024 is going to be a big one, too. I have some exciting announcements coming up, and I hope you stay with me on this journey.

I say all this to say: I don’t take any of these opportunities lightly. I’m incredibly privileged to be doing what I’m doing. Thank you for your support. I hope you find some comfort, joy, and understanding in the music I make.

Wishing you peace, health, and fullness as we close this year, and as we move into the next one,

-Michael