This world needs more of you in it!

​Michael Engelhardt is an innovative composer of choral and pop music. His work has been featured on ABC, NBC, PBS, and NPR broadcasts, the Carnegie Hall stage, and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the Jazz Education Network (JEN). He has numerous choral works published by Walton Music (GIA) and Hinshaw Music in addition to his self-published catalog. In the pop music field, he has arranged and/or performed backing vocals for such artists as O.A.R., Ben Folds, Take 6, Kansas, and Patti Austin, and he has produced concert video for Michael McDonald. His unique ability to blend classical and commercial genres can be traced back to his upbringing — his mom a bridal designer and seamstress; his dad an industrial plastic engineer and oldies rock fanatic.

A native of Woodstock, Illinois, Michael holds a Bachelor of Music (Vocal Performance) degree from Millikin University (Decatur, IL) and a Master of Music (Choral Conducting) degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Although Mike is a raging Chicago Cubs fan, he is currently based in St. Louis, MO, where he lives with his wife, two children, and a tiny dog named Murray.
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The world needs YOUR MUSIC, so let’s work together to find, develop, and refine your unique voice as a choral composer. In this course you will receive in-depth coaching and individual lessons from Mike Engelhardt, a choral professional for over 20 years and a published composer for more than 10 years. Different from traditional academic composition lessons, Mike takes a much more practical, less theoretical approach to composing and arranging choral music that really works for choirs, conductors, and audiences alike. From Mike, you will learn how to edit some of your previous work to make it more effective, while being challenged to write new material that is aligned with your true artistic self within a safe and encouraging environment. You will learn the best ways to share your music with the world through various routes such as traditional publishing, indie publishing, self-publishing, and more. Fully embrace yourself as a choral composer starting now — we need your artistry!

In your bi-weekly lessons:

• FIND and develop your own unique “voice” as a composer/arranger that sets you apart from others
• SHARE your voice by bringing your new choral music into the world 
• Learn how to effectively notate, format, and present your work to publishers, 3rd party retail sites, or directly to conductors
• Identify and make contact with the publishers, choirs, and conductors that are the best fit for your work
• Receive personal coaching, feedback, and encouragement from Mike on your latest works based on his 20+ year career as a choral artist and 10+ years of work as a published choral composer
• Complete assignments that will help you make progress toward your specific artistic and professional goals as a choral composer
• Learn how to make your music accessible to choirs and audience without sacrificing innovation and creativity

Schedule a 15 minute consultation with Mike

Other resources will include:

• Learn how to self-publish your work
• Look behind-the-scenes at Mike’s publishing deals, contracts, and proof editing process
• Learn how commissions and co-commissions work, including contract agreements, premieres, deadlines and deliverables
• Learn basic audio skills so that you can make your own demos, rehearsal tracks, and more
• Discover new ways to get quality performances and recordings of your work
• Learn how to find more revenue streams for your work
• Explore many different approaches to the creative process as a composer

Tuition is $945 (payable in three monthly installments), and includes 3 months of guided learning opportunities tailored to you (October 1 - December 31, 2021).
You'll receive:

• ​6 bi-weekly private composition lessons with Mike Engelhardt at a mutually convenient time
• invitations to monthly Zoom Masterclasses with leaders in the industry
• access to Mike's exclusive online library of resources

Mike's Composition Studio is currently full. 

Explore our other offerings, in the meantime...