Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Michael Strelo-Smith burst onto the national scene as a constestant on Season 2 of the hit NBC television show, America's Got Talent.Growing up, Michael wanted to teach. Teaching has always been a calling to which he cannot ignore. A chance meeting with a voice teacher in Hayward, Califonia forever changed his path. Within six weeks of studies, he found his voice opening up in a way that he never expected. Michael went on to study at Boston Conservatory Opera Studio and and then transferred to San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 1998 he left San Francisco Conservatory to pursue work as a solo performer. For almost a decade he has been performing on the operatic, musical theatre and recital stages. Some of his favorite roles include Charlie Brown (Snoopy!!!); Sharpless (Madama Butterfly); Damis (Tartuffe); Pooh-Bah (The Mikado) and Dickon (The Secret Garden). He appeared on the stages of Boston Symphony Hall, New York's Alice Tully Hall and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall.In 2004 his beloved grandmother, Elsie, passed away. Michael's grandmother was and continues to be a major source of inspiration. Michael has said, of his grandmother, "She was my best friend. From her I learned compassion for the world and the ability to always strive to be the best person I can be."After his grandmothers passing, he found it quite difficult to sing. Michael began to explore other ways to express himself musically while he dealt with the grief of losing his grandmother.In 2004, Michael took on his first job as vocal director for the Douglas Morrisson Theatre in Hayward, Ca. He has since gone on to work as vocal director and orchestra conductor for musical performances with respected theatre companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.In 2005, Michael accepted a job that put in him in the classroom. He began teaching general classroom music for grades 3 to 5. He also began directing full scale musicals for kids in grades 2 to 5. In addition to his classroom teaching, he has been a private voice teacher/coach for well over a decade.In 2007, Michael was a contestant on the NBC Universal hit summer television series America's Got Talent. After beating out tens of thousands of other music and variety acts, Michael was first selected to be one of 200 acts at the Los Angeles taping. He performed the song This Is The Moment from the musical Jekyll and Hyde.During his performance, he was "buzzed" by Piers Morgan and the Sharon Osbourne. He received a standing ovation from the audience and David Hasselhoff. Although he received a 'no' from Piers Morgan, he evenetually won over Sharon Osbourne, who called him 'sugar mouth' as he used his wit and charm to woo her into a yes vote.He went on to perform in Las Vegas with the other 71 acts and was thrilled to make the short list of acts which secured his place in the top 35. Unfortunately, Michael did not make it to the top 20, but he went home with his head held high, staring his future right into the eye.Check back here regularly to watch the musical career of the man Jerry Springer called, "The gentle giant," take off.
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