Mr. Shapiro's compositions include works for solo voice, piano, chamber groups, and orchestra, as well as for television, film, and opera. The New York Times characterized his music as "possessing a rare melodic gift."
Mr. Shapiro's works have been widely performed in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and he has received numerous honors and commissions. First performances of his works have been broadcast over National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting System, the Israel Broadcasting Authority, Sender Freies Berlin, and major New York stations, including WQXR and WCBS-TV.
He regularly performs his own music and conducted The Chappaqua Orchestra in the world premiere of his score for the classic silent film Frankenstein at the Jacob Burns Film Center and later at the Paramount Theater in Peekskill. The work received its Massachusetts premiere at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Boston, was profiled on the front page of the Boston Globe, and was also performed at the Berkshire Museum and at historic Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.
Mr. Shapiro's prizes and grants include those from Martha Baird Rockefeller Composer's Assistance, Meet the Composer, Henry Evans Traveling Fellowship of Columbia University, the Columbian Award, Sigma Alpha Iota Composer's Competition Prize, and the Chappaqua Orchestra's Boris Koutzen Memorial Fund.
Mr. Shapiro served for two years as Music Consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., where he produced and performed the music of composers who perished in or fled Europe during the Second World War. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Conductor's Guild.
Born into a musical family, Michael Shapiro began expressing himself with music at an early age. He won various piano competitions during his youth and, today, continues performing as an accompanist to singers and as a chamber music pianist.
Mr. Shapiro's composition teachers included Elie Siegmeister, Vincent Persichetti, and the late Sir Malcolm Arnold. Mr. Shapiro was trained in conducting by Carl Bamberger at The Mannes School, and more recently by Harold Farberman at Bard College. He also studied solfege and score reading at The Juilliard School with Renee Longy.
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