Michael is a classically-trained composer and pianist, now working as a freelance composer, orchestrator, arranger and teacher. He won a scholarship to study composition at the Royal Academy of Music under Paul Patterson, graduating with First Class Honours in 2003. He was awarded first prize at the National Young Composer of the Year Competition in 1997, third prize in the Oticons International Film Scoring Competition, 2014 and third prize in the Artistes en Herbe International Composing Compeition, 2015. In Summer 2013, Michael scored two short Thai films by Disspong Sampattavanich. Playground won first prize at the Department of Land Transport Short Film Competition, Thailand in 2013, and The Guardians won the best film and best actor prizes at the 9 FilmFest Bangkok Short Film Festival in 2013. Since late 2011, Michael has been working with the composer George Kallis, initially composing three movie trailer scores for his high-end music library Superior Audio Music. More recently, Michael has been working along with his wife and fellow composer, Akiko Ogawa, orchestrating and copying George's film scores for Steve Gukas' A Place in the Stars and Oleg Kapanets' Gagarin: First in Space. Michael is also credited with composing additional music for the score to Gagarin: First in Space. Michael is currently working as a freelance composer for Filmstro and is in the process of orchestrating a third score for George Kallis, due to be recorded in Russia on 6th May 2015. He has access to a professionally-equipped studio centered around a Hackintosh running Cubase. From the studio, he is able to produce orchestral/instrumental mock-ups and realisations of the highest quality with a quick turnaround.
