Dr. Michael Oberhauser’s operas are frequently praised by the Washington Post, DC Metro Theater Arts, and DC Theatre Scene. Michael’s music has been performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on the Kojo Nnamdi show on WAMU 88.5, by StageFree Music, by Opera On Tap DC, and by the opera departments at both Catholic University and the University of Maryland, College Park, to name a few. The University of Maryland performance was the result of a commission for a one-act opera.
Michael moved to Washington, DC to earn his Master’s Degree in Music Composition with a Stage Emphasis from the Catholic University of America. In 2015 he received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition degree from the University of Maryland. He has studied with MJ Zank, Andrew Earle Simpson, Lawrence Moss, and Mark Edwards Wilson.
Michael is an adjunct music theory faculty member at both the University of Maryland, College Park and the Catholic University of America. He is also the founder of the Silver Finch Arts Collective, which produces recitals and small opera productions in the DC metro region, frequently under Michael’s baton as conductor. Michael also co-founded the District New Music Coalition, which promotes the performance and appreciation of contemporary music by connecting performers, composers, institutions, and audiences located in the Washington, DC metropolitan area through concerts, conferences, and active community-building. DNMC produces a yearly concert series, produces a yearly two-day conference, and holds quarterly New Music Happy Hours.
Michael loves to collaborate! Please send a message to [email protected] to discuss ideas.
Follow me on Twitter: @moberhau
Follow me on Facebook: Michael Oberhauser, Composer
Follow my Soundcloud: Michael Oberhauser
Follow my YouTube: Michael Oberhauser
Current/Upcoming Projects:
- Megan Ihnen & Alan Theisen Present... will premiere Bright Star III, a piece I wrote for them, in a concert some time in 2019.
- Mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen will record my wordless, a cappella lullaby "i would like to be the air" on her upcoming album Sleep Songs: Wordless Lullabies for the Sleepless.
- I'm working on a solo piano piece in memory of my good friend John Maggi, who died in 2018. I'm basing it on a theme from a piece we co-composed, Jekyll or Hyde?
- Expanding Another Country into a two-act opera with Shannon Berry.
- Expanding the newly-composed parts of Once Upon a Bedtime into a stand-alone concert piece or piece for dance.
Recent Projects and Performances:
- On November 29, soprano Danielle Buonaiuto and pianist Jason Wirth premiered my piece, "Hudson Valley Autumn," which was composed for Danielle on a poem by Shannon Berry.
- The Lives Left Behind - Silver Finch Arts Collective produced this set of four short operas by Joseph Kaz, Frances Pollock, William Kenlon, and myself. It ran from July 14-26, 2018.
- - - - - Last Edited 9-17-19 - - - - -
