Michael is an award winning conductor, educator, co-founder and CEO of the Irish Institute of Music & Song. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and teaching assistantship to pursue a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Choral Music from the University of Southern California.  He returned to Ireland in 2019 to expand Fingal Academy of Music into the internationally facing Irish Institute of Music and Song.   Prior to moving to the U.S, he taught at the National University of Ireland Maynooth where he developed the Maynooth University Chamber Choir into one of the top performing collegiate ensembles in the world. During his time directing the choir they performed several world tours performing in venues across the U.S and China. In 2015 Michael became the first Irish conductor to win the Pavarotti Trophy at the “Choir of the World ” International competition at the Llangollen Eisteddfod. He has adjudicated choral competitions nationally and internationally and is regularly invited to provide clinics to groups visiting Ireland. As a singer Michael spent several years performing with the internationally acclaimed ensemble Anúna and recorded on several albums which include the soundtracks for Diablo III and World of Warcraft. He also holds a masters degree in Ritual, Chant and Song from the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance, University of Limerick and can be heard singing chant on the TV series Vikings.

Michael is passionate about sharing his knowledge with educators in Ireland and abroad. His specialty areas include conducting, science informed voice teaching, choral music, music education, traditional Irish music and performance studies.