Michael O'Brien

Michael O'Brien holds a B.A from the University of Minnesota with a major in the Spanish language. He studied bass under Anthony Cox, and West African and Haitian percussion under Marc Anderson. He has been performing and composing Internationally for over a decade with such notables as Harry Connick Jr., The Merce Cunningham Dance Co., Gene Pitney, Dave King, Joshua Breakstone, Elliot Zigmund, Ron Afiff, Todd Reynolds, Wessel Anderson, David Binney, The Jazz Mandolin Project, Joel Harrison, Marty Haugin, Peter Ostroushko, Christian Howes, John Van Ohlen, Peter Apfelbaum, Bruce Barth, Dan Weiss, Marc Giuliana, Roseanna Vitro, Marc Anderson, Mary Ellen Childs, and performed with vocalist Debbie Duncan in the "Blues al Feminile" concert series hosted by the Centro Jazz Torino based in Torino, Italy. Michael has performed at the Lincoln Center Festival, IAJE (International Jazz Educators conference), PASIC (Percussive Arts Societies International Convention), American Composers Forums' Sonic Circuits Festival to name a few. His compositions and arrangements have been recorded by Kelly Rossum, Electropolis. He has been commissioned through the Jerome Foundation by the Jazz is Now Nonnette. His string quartet arrangement of "Pine" was performed at the Kennedy Center by the acclaimed string quartet Ethel.