Artist Spotlight: Meet Brandon Michael!

As we count down the days until our cabaret-inspired fundraiser, Dirty, Stupid Music, we turn the spotlight toward the artists featured on the show. This week we chat with Brandon Michael.

What are some of your first memories of performing music?

My grandfather was a violist and music educator in Spokane, Washington—all the cool kids took band, but because I wanted to impress him, I joined orchestra and played violin.

The first chair violinist and I performed a duet—some Bach piece. I remember I had the biggest crush on her and after the performance we got Slurpies at 7-11.

What do you love about performing? 

I love that a performance is experienced only in the moment of its creation, unlike any other art form. It is a shared moment between artists and audience, this thin membrane through which the two can experience each other. The performance is born of that interaction, exists only in the brief moment of connection and then only as an impression left on artist and audience.

About singing?

Singing is the prism that I see the world through. I have never believed that I was particularly gifted, nor has it been terribly lucrative but I’ll always be a singer whether I am singing or not. Singing is just the way that I am.

Why is music important to you?

Music is important to me because of its communal role. Music is experience expressed in a way that is universally understandable, so in music we can communicate with each other more empathetically and less egotistically. 

If you could collaborate with any artist or ensemble, who would you pick?

I would love to do something with Stephen Sondheim, I know I missed my chance. I’d love to do a mocumentary with Christopher Guest and Catherine O’Hara. I’d love to sing a weird song for a David Lynch movie. I’d love to sing in a Missy Mazzolli opera. I would love working with Barbara Hannigan.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you came to Portland?

I moved to Portland last year, so I’m really new here. My family and I were living in North Idaho and during the Trump years, the environment there changed in really negative ways. My wife and I decided we wanted to live on the coast and settled on Portland when she got hired at her dream job. I wasn’t entirely sure what I would find, but I have been totally blown away by the caliber of groups and by the amount of opportunities for me. 

What do you love about being a performer in Portland?

I love how much really exciting work there is here! And everyone is so kind and generous, I have been welcomed so warmly. It’s a magical community of brilliant and genuinely beautiful colleagues and appreciative audiences. I wish I would have moved here 10 years earlier!

What is your favorite venue(s) in Portland?

I love the Keller Auditorium, its got so much character. It kind of reminds me of the bigger houses back east, where everything is built up and you are constantly going from floor to floor backstage. I also have really enjoyed PSU’s Lincoln hall, the stage has this really quirky acoustical footprint and depending on where you stand you can hear things like they are in inch away from your ear. It’s fun

the Jecca Jazz Ensemble: Pictured here: Brandon Michael, Shohei Kobayashi, Erik Hundtoft and Jessica Israels - all featured in this year’s Dirty, Stupid Music!

What groups do you perform with currently? (And if you have anything nice you want to say about them!)

I sing with Portland Opera, Portland Symphonic Choir, Resonance Ensemble, Orpheus PDX, and JeccaJazz - a new vocal jazz group. I just love each of these groups immensely. 

How did you become involved with Resonance Ensemble?

Resonance and my friend Jessica Israels collaborated on a concert of Duke Ellingtons sacred music and I first sang with Resonance thanks to that connection. When I moved to Portland I let Kathy know I was in town and she invited me to sing on the Abya Yala program shortly after that. I really enjoyed both experiences, but performing a new work and premiering it with Kathy in Portland and at ACDA was really special. I find that Kathy is incredibly generous with herself as a leader, she believes in her artists and in the art. 

What does your typical week look like as an active performer?

I have found there is not a lot of consistency from week to week! Each gig, each group, each project brings a completely different lifestyle you have to live and often you are living many different lifestyles simultaneously. One gig you are in tuxedo in the VIP lounge, shmoozing with donors, and the next you are shamefully shoveling tacobell into your face between services, trying not to get hot sauce on your concert blacks. I guess practice is the thread that runs between these extremes, always practice you sneak in wherever you can, but aside from that its a whirlwind with few commonalities from month to month. 

Do you have interests outside of music?

Yes, I love trail walking here, the trails are just gorgeous. I love watching horror movies and high falutin’ artsy movies and tv shows. I love spending time with my family and I love cooking. I’m not super good at it, I find that mostly I like chopping things. I feel like a total badass chopping things. I shouldn’t feel so cavalier about it, one day I will be known as that fingerless singer if I’m not careful. 

Can you tell me a little bit about what you’re preparing for Dirty, Stupid? Why you picked the song you did, what it means to you, what you hope the audience will connect with/enjoy?

I really struggled finding material for this program but I settled on two very contrasting songs. As a human I am all about empathy for one another which my first song has alot to say about. My second song is truly one of the least substantial, goofy pieces of music I have ever heard, so I love it. It’s dumb and manic and hopefully a welcome change of pace for the audience.

Special shoutouts?

Directors of Ensembles are really the unsung hero’s of the local music scene. They bring out the best in us in so many ways, but in my opinion don’t receive the recognition that they deserve. 

I have met so many musical leaders here who I adore, but I would like to shout out four of them who I think are really special.

First is my friend Jessica Israels, who I have known since I was 18. She is the founder of Jeccajazz ensemble and the Multnomah Women’s choir. She has always had the most adventuresome and inquisitive ear out of anyone I have ever met in my life. She introduced me to Stravinsky and George Crumb and Frank Zappa in the same month. She is always listening and finding the most remarkable examples of recorded music in every genre and time period and bringing these treasures to her ensembles. To hear a concert programmed by Jessica is to hear new things that you will never forget.

Kathy Fitzgibbons, our fearless Resonance leader is the kindest and most collaborative musician I know. There is something about her that singers are driven to, everyone wants to work with Kathy and when they get the chance, they will do anything to live up to the promise of that opportunity. I think it has to do with this warmth and competence that she projects. She is so well respected and I am always excited to be in a room or concert hall with her.

Wendy Bamonte is the music director at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church where I frequently sing. I have loved singing with her and watching how she handles the huge 50 person choir of mixed ability. She always brings exacting musical nuance with patience and humor and each rehearsal is a masterclass in how to transform a large group of people with mixed levels of skill and commitment, into an cohesive ensemble of sensitive musicians. Best of all, there is always time for laughter in her precisely run rehearsals. 

Nick Fox is the Chorus Master at the Portland Opera and I have adored working with him. He is a world class musician and one of the most passionate artists I have known. I leave each rehearsal with Nick a better musician. He is incredibly articulate and generous with his thoughts and I find that I begin to see the music through his eyes and the material just opens itself up. 

Single tickets for Dirty, Stupid Music—showing twice on January 15th at Curious Comedy—are on sale now. CLICK HERE to visit the event page for more information, or CLICK HERE to learn about the rest of our season.