Background
Mike took his first piano lesson at the age of 6. At 9, he joined the San Francisco Boys Chorus. While in the chorus, he performed in the SF Opera’s production of Carmen and Boris Godunov as well as performed for the Queen of England during her visit to San Francisco. He went on 3 international concert tours as a boy soprano with the chorus to Australia, New Zealand; Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Scandanavia.
After finishing high school, Mike began to study solfège privately with James Wimer. Solfège is a type of musical training that focuses on sight-singing and ear training. The student learns to recognize all the elements of musical notation and translate them into actual sounds.
Mike age 11
Bizet’s Opera Carmen
“Obviously, the broader his experience of music in many fields, the more the teacher will have to bring to every piano lesson.”
Angela Diller, author, The Splendor of Music
He would fill in as an accompanist at the First Presbyterian Church of San Mateo for their chorus and did accompanying work for a bay area children’s chorus. He also volunteered as an usher at the SF Symphony.
In addition to his musical studies, Mike was a member of the SF Symphony Chorus for two years. During this time, they performed works directed by conductors such as Herbert Bloomstedt, Valery Gergiev, Michael Tilson Thomas. This provided a great opportunity to see how some of the great conductors prepare a work for performance at such a high level.
From his late teens, Mike developed an interest in the process of recording the piano. Recording his own playing allowed him to experiment with phrasings and to hear things that he wasn’t aware he was doing. This turned out to be very beneficial in the development of his musicality.
Out of his desire to make better recordings, Mike began to teach himself the art and skill of audio production. This led to him working professionally as a freelance dialog editor and mixing engineer for Downpat Music.
Mike has recorded for the Piano For Film library and his recordings have been heard in commercials, tv shows and movies around the world.
