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