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Born into a musical family, Michael Jones is a @GRAMMY award-winning international soloist, chamber musician and clinician. Noted as singing “particularly beautifully” by the Chestnut Hill Local (Philadelphia), Michael has appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Choral Arts Philadelphia, Academy of Sacred Drama, Haverford University Choir and Orchestra, Disney’s All-American College Band and Peoria Area Civic Chorale, among several others. Michael has sung at the Finnish National Opera House, Lincoln Center’s Merkin Hall, Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, and Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, to name a few.
In addition to his extensive solo career, Michael also regularly performs with some of the nation's finest choral ensembles. Most notably, Michael sings with two @GRAMMY award winning groups, The Crossing and Conspirare, as well as Santa Fe Desert Chorale, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, Apollo's Fire, Variant 6, ekmeles, Les Canards Chantants, Madison Choral Project, Music of the Baroque, William Ferris Chorale, Grant Park Opera Chorus, Constellation Men’s Ensemble, Bridge Ensemble, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Alium Spiritum and Chorosynthesis. Michael has been a finalist in callbacks with Chanticleer and Cantus and was one of eight, internationally, selected to audition for Voces8 in spring of 2019. Michael studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music for his bachelors in jazz trumpet. While there, he was under the tutelage of David Adams, Kim Pensyl, Dr. Scott Belck, and Rick VanMatre. For his graduate degree, he attended Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music for a masters in jazz trumpet, studying with Victor Goines, Donald Nally, Brad Mason, and Keven Keys. |
In addition to his vocal career, Michael also plays trumpet all over the world in multiple settings; from New Orleans style brass band to chamber orchestra to small group jazz. You name it: Michael has done it. In the fall of 2019, Michael played with critically acclaimed Youngblood Brass Band, dubbed by Dazed and Confused as "hip-hop's heaviest brass section," for their European fall tour.
When living in Philadelphia, Michael regularly played with Ocean Avenue Stompers the Bachelor Boys Band for private events and weddings all along the east coast. In addition, Michael plays regularly at City Church Philadelphia and whenever one of his favorite people Taylor Kelly calls for a "soul" gig, he's there. While living in Chicago, he appeared regularly at The Green Mill, Chicago's legendary jazz club, with Alan Gresik and the Swing Shift Orchestra. He is an original member of J-Livi and the Party, The Cincy Brass, Cincinnati's award-winning brass band and played with Four Star Brass Band. All three bands have recorded albums released in the last few years: Cincy Brass released "Ain't Nuttin' Louder" in 2011, Four Star released "Get Your Four Star On" in 2015, J-Livi and the Party released "Come and Share my Life" in 2016, and in 2019, released "Mixtape.". During Michael's time at Northwestern, he was fortunate to co-found a hip hop group called The Syndicate that played around Chicago and Evanston. Their most notable performance was Dillo Day 2015. In the summer of 2013, Michael auditioned and won the "jazz" trumpet chair in the Disneyland All-American College Band. While in the band, he played five sets a day at Disneyland in Anaheim where he performed with Bob Mintzer, Gordon Goodwin, Wycliffe Gordon, Peter Erskine, Jiggs Whigham, John Clayton, Gregg Field, Steve Houghton, Sal Lozano and Rex Richardson. |
Choral Recordings
Michael is just as comfortable with the “red light on” as he is with live performance. Michael has recorded on Delos, Parma, Albany, World Library Publications (WLP), and GIA. Michael has been a part of six Grammy nominations in the category of Best Choral Performance; five of which were with The Crossing, and the other with Conspirare. In addition to his GRAMMY nominations, Michael has performed on five Downbeat Award-winning recordings.
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Carthage [The Crossing 2020]
GRAMMY Nominated [Best Choral Performance] Rising with The Crossing [The Crossing 2020] Anonymous Man [The Crossing 2020] Truth and Fable [The Thirteen 2019] Voyages [The Crossing 2019] GRAMMY Nominated [Best Choral Performance] The Arc in the Sky [The Crossing 2019] GRAMMY Nominated [Best Choral Performance] The Hope of Loving [Conspirare 2019] GRAMMY Nominated [Best Choral Performance] |
Zealot Canticles [The Crossing 2018]
@GRAMMY AWARD [Best Choral Performance] Canticle [Vocal Arts Ensemble 2018] If There Were Water [The Crossing 2017] Empowering Silenced Voices [Chorosynthesis 2017] Sound from the Bench [The Crossing 2016] Canticales of the Holy Wind [The Crossing 2016] Seven Responses [The Crossing 2016] Words Adorned [The Crossing 2015] Bonhoeffer [The Crossing 2015] GRAMMY nominated [Best Choral Performance] |