Michael Hersch

Michael Nathaniel Hersch (born June 25, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. He currently serves as faculty at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, where he completed his own studies in music composition. The New York Times has commented that he writes “extraordinarily communicative music” and that “Mr. Hersch’s music speaks for itself eloquently”. Biography Early life and musical education Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Reston, Virginia, Hersch was introduced to classical music at the age of 18 by his younger brother Jamie, who showed him a videotape of Georg Solti conducting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. He began his studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore with Morris Cotel. In 1995 Hersch studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he worked with Albert Leman and Roman Ledenev. That same year he also worked with John Corigliano, John Harbison, and George Rochberg at a program for young composers. Hersch then returned to Peabody for graduate studies, graduating in 1997 with a Master of Arts. Early recognition His first success came when Marin Alsop selected Hersch’s Elegy as winner of the American Composers Prize, and conduct