Michael Wolniakowski

Composer

Chicago-native Michael Wolniakowski is a conductor, composer, and editor. His vision is a magnet for organizations who aim to forge new paths, build solid programs, and champion for new music and living artists.

He currently lives as a full-time composer and vocal coach, and is General Editor for Tempo 1˚ Press. In 2016, he was named Composer-in-Residence for the Oak Park Concert Chorale (Oak Park, IL) and in early 2017, he was named Composer-in-Residence for the music department at Kansas City Lutheran High School (Kansas City, MO).

Michael studied at Concordia University Chicago and published his first work while still an undergraduate. His graduate work in choral conducting and composition was completed at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and his post-graduate work in composition and creative orchestral transcription was completed at the Royal College of Music in London.

He has served as continuo player for works by J.S. Bach, including a great deal of the cantata literature. He has been soloist for performances of rarely-performed music of Bach including the concerto for two and three harpsichords. Recently, his sacred music was performed at the 2017 London Festival of Contemporary Church Music.

As a singer, he has toured with the Ionian Singers (London, UK) throughout central London and the Northern Jutland area of Denmark. The chorus was featured at several music festivals along the Saeby Sea with concerts broadcast live on Danish National Radio. Additionally, Michael has sung under influential conductors including Bob Chilcott, Timothy Salter, and Paul Spicer. His most recent commission is for Lumen (a new London-based chamber chorus), for a new work, Beati quorum via, to be recorded on the Convivium record label in May 2018. In November 2017, Michael was named a semi-finalist for the American Prize in Composition.