About Michael Whalen
For Michael Whalen, the passionate pursuit of music represents his life story, not merely the contents of a resume. The evocative works he composes and produces have become a part of our lives too, through his remarkably diverse ventures in television, films, theater, multi-media and on his own recordings. So far, Michael has more than 450 television scores and dozens of feature and short film credits to his name. He created the uplifting opening theme to the ABC News morning show Good Morning America, music for the Oprah Winfrey Show, Martha Stewart, and Inside Edition. He also created the Emmy-nominated score for PBS' 2006 "Violent Hawaii" special and the sprawling theme to the acclaimed eleven-hour 2007 PBS series America at a Crossroads, and material for the inspirational 2004 indie film hit What the Bleep Do We Know? His music is currently featured on over a dozen shows including the CBS soap opera, As the World Turns.
Michael won an Emmy for the HBO animated classic How Do You Spell God? He's also scored various installments of the PBS series Nature, Nova and American Masters as well as the popular National Geographic documentary Air Force One; contributed clever, kid-friendly rock songs to the Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh television and movie phenomena; and even had his emotional and nostalgic orchestral piece, "The Shadows of October", chosen by Major League Baseball for its World Series broadcasts.
You've undoubtedly heard Michael's work in one of the literally thousands of commercials he scored for clients like Apple, Coca-Cola, Disney and Nike. But he's not just a composer-for-hire: Michael is also building a significant discography -- 22 CDs to date -- as a solo recording artist, working in pop, jazz, classical, electronic and those fascinating, unclassifiable spaces in between. His most recent project, The Other Coast (Spout/MWM), is a collection of piano-based compositions inspired by the awe-inspiring drives that he has taken with his wife, Linda, along the central California coast. He's currently completing on a holiday-themed disc called Seasons of Light; judging from the rough mixes, it promises to be deeply stirring while sidestepping easy sentiment. Among Michael's collaborators on this project are the wonderfully expressive singers -- Paul Buchanan (The Blue Nile), Duncan Sheik, Kristin Hoffman, Julian Velard, Allanah Miles and Toni Childs.
Michael was born in New York City in 1965, where he lives and works today, but was raised in Washington D.C. As a boy, he studied percussion, then switched to piano and keyboards in high school. Even as a teenager, playing in "many different kinds of jazz and rock bands, orchestras and pick-up groups," Michael displayed the musical curiosity and breadth of vision that marks his work today:
"All through high school and college, I was interested in a wide variety of musical styles. I felt that being a recording artist and performer in one style was too limiting for me."
Key to Michael's success has been his love of collaboration - with his fellow performers, filmmakers and the assorted creative thinkers who get involved in his projects. The film/television composer's task, he knows, is to embellish someone else's vision while trying to create something musically he can call his own. For Michael,
"Scoring is about trust and relationships. The process of going back and forth with a client is about communication. Sometimes clients come to the studio and we run cues and get feedback on the spot. I enjoy that the most, and I think that clients enjoy the process of being 'hands on' with me."
Collaboration is also essential to the more personal projects Michael is developing: his albums, his classical composing, and, especially, his boundary-pushing Music in the Dark series. A live event that he first produced in New York City in 2003, Music in the Dark is an improvised performance by Michael of acoustic and electronic music to accompany newly commissioned silent film shorts. The next installment is scheduled for September 2007. This is movie scoring at its most adventurous, a duet in real time between sound and image.
But, as we said before, you probably know him already. It's Michael Whalen's music that often keeps you glued to your television set. That causes your heart to swell in a darkened movie theater. That draws you closer to the radio. Our world moves to his melodies. Stay tuned for much, much more.
