Michael was born in Burlington, North Carolina, in 1973. He is a largely self-taught composer / musicker who studied music for a time at Colorado State University where he later earned a B.A. in philosophy and religious studies. His respect for 20th Century music, avant garde and experimental music, plus a cognitive anarchist's disposition proved too strong to continue his music studies in the university. He has since devoted himself to exploration of sound on his terms, learning from those predecessors who were courageous enough to stand rooted in their art.
In addition to composing for chamber ensembles his music often utilizes many unconventional means of approaching sound in general, and composition in particular, including an instrument he conceived and built that has come to be known as the "tilaphone".
Michael currently lives in Denver, and is working toward his Masters Degree (MLIS), and considering silence to be the most powerful thing in the world.