Michael Fiday’s music is known for its expressive directness, inventive sound world, gradually unfolding dramatic narratives, and distinctive rhythmic energy, all reflecting his openness to diverse influences outside the European tradition, particularly those of the American vernacular. His music has been commissioned and performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and elsewhere by a diverse range of performers such as Cincinnati Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Percussion Ensemble of The Hague, and pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin.
Fiday is the recipient of numerous awards, grants, and residencies from, among others, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Foundation, Barlow Foundation, MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Ohio Arts Council. His principal teachers have included George Crumb at University of Pennsylvania and Louis Andriessen, with whom he studied in Amsterdam under the auspices of a Fulbright Grant. He has taught at the College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati since 2003.
At MacDowell in 2009, Fiday began work on Gonzo Variations (Hunter S. Thompson in memoriam) for chamber orchestra. The work was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and would be performed at Zankel/Carnegie Hall as part of the Orchestra Underground series. In 2018, he composed Junkyard Angel for solo piano, commissioned by pianist Brianna Matzke for her Response Project.
During his 2025 residency, Fiday completed October Variations for solo vibraphone/assorted percussion for percussionist Russell Burge, to be included on a recording of solo works forthcoming from New Focus Records in 2026. He also began work on the 3rd movement of FIVE for orchestra, to be premiered by the Philharmonia Orchestra of the College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati.
