Scott Michal

Unabashedly tonal and delightfully anachronistic, the music of American composer Scott Michal combines lyric, harmonic and rhythmic ingenuity with exceptional craftsmanship in a unique stylistic manner that remains true to the spirit of the great masters. Neo-classic in form and tonality, innovative and original in content, Scott’s music is always fun to listen to, and fun to perform.

Rooted in his own experiences as a professional cellist and pianist, Michal is a performer’s composer. Playing cello in the Columbus Symphony for 13 seasons, and accompanying and conducting great musicians from around the world, he has been immersed in music-making nearly all of his life. The son and grandson of piano teachers, he has devoted much of his life to teaching, constantly seeking innovative ways to share his deep love of music with his students.

For nearly ten years Michal served as Composer-in-Residence to The Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Center. While there, his works were performed regularly by the resident ensembles of the center, The Ohio Valley Symphony, The Ohio Valley Youth Orchestra, The Ariel Players and Junior Theaters and the Ariel String Quartet. In 2004 he joined the faculty of the University of Rio Grande teaching a popular Music Appreciation course, composition and song writing, piano and strings, and is developing an immersive entrepreneurship program for the performing arts.

His music is performed by orchestras and musicians throughout the world. A new musical (Michal’s fourth) premiered in March 2011. The Huntington Symphony Orchestra premiered A Klezmer Chanukah! in December of 2010, and his Cello Sonata was recently performed to great acclaim in a multi-city tour throughout Turkey. New projects include Song of the Mountain celebrating the legacy of John Muir, a commission for Cincinnati Symphony Principal Hornist Elizabeth Freimuth, Rock Music combining motives from Classic Rock standards with a brief introduction to geology being written for Trio 21 featuring Jeffery Biegel, Judy Kang and Robert DeMaine, and the Prairie Sonata, for Taiwanese pianist Helen Linn, celebrating the life of his grandmother, Bertha Tice who in the early years of the twentieth century traveled throughout north central Kansas to teach piano lessons for isolated pioneer homesteads.

Michal’s music is available from Hal Leonard, Willis Music, ALRY, Dramatic Publishing and his own company, The Naragon Music Press. His website has streaming audio clips of many of his works, downloadable perusal scores and information on purchasing or renting his music.