Michael began playing piano and violin at the young age of 8 years old and never looked back. With his dad being the worship leader at their church, Michael had the opportunity to learn how to play by ear without having the music in front of him. This launched him into playing music for the pure joy that it brought him and everyone involved. Because of this newfound technique in his playing, he chose to become a Music Education major at Point Loma Nazarene University where he was exposed to teaching and playing in bands his freshman year. Not only did Michael play as the concert master in orchestras throughout high school and college (a big deal), but he also took time to explore other genres of music by becoming involved in various bands. Also, Michael sang and was the section leader in choirs from when he was young. He was exposed to opera in college when the voice teacher appreciated his raw talent so much, he made room in his voice studio even though Michael was not a voice major.

As if violin, piano, and singing weren’t enough, Michael can also play guitar, cello, viola, ukulele, mandolin, piano, you name it! Upon graduating in 2014, Michael has taught music in classrooms and privately at Recreational Music Center and, more recently, at Freed Music Studio, lead worship in various churches, as well as playing with indie-rock, bluegrass, hipster bands. Some of Michael’s favorite things are cheese, being barefoot, sunrises/sunsets, making friends with homeless people, and taking his violin on hikes.