Long Bio (250 Words)

     Michael Kirchmayer is a composer and guitarist located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He started playing guitar at the age of 12 and holds a Diploma in Music for classical guitar performance from Capilano University, where he studied with guitarist Stephen Boswell. At Capilano, he was also the recipient of the Christopher Gray Johnson Memorial Bursary that is designated to “deserving students who demonstrate a high standard of musical ability in the Music Diploma Program”.

     Now he is focusing primarily on composition and is studying music at UBC. He has written music in many different styles, everything from serial chamber music to death metal to spectral pieces. Although he doesn’t like to be “pigeon-holed”, Michael aims to write music which appeals to his taste in modern sensibilities and aesthetics. The composers that influence him and that he aspires to the most are Giacinto Scelsi, Helmut Lachenmann, Luigi Nono, Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kaija Saariaho, Wolfgang Mitterer, Olga Neuwirth, György Ligeti, John Cage, György Kurtág, Ann Southam, Salvatore Sciarrino, Anton Webern and Horatiu Radulescu. Currently Michael is looking into the potential of scoring music for films through a better understanding of music technology. He also has an immense understanding music theory, from baroque counterpoint to post-tonal methods of composition.

     Besides writing music, Michael also started painting last year with encouragement from his good friend Ross Birdwise, who is a well-known multimedia artist and electronic musician. Michael has had his paintings on display at two different art shows since he started. His favorite painter is Gerhard Richter.