Composer-pianist Michael Stephen Brown’s musical journey began at two, dancing to Raffi and Billy Joel, soon after convinced he was Mozart reincarnated—an early hint of the lifelong adventure that lay ahead. Recently hailed by The New York Times as “one of the leading figures in the current renaissance of performer-composers,” Brown is a recipient of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and is a recipient of the Copland House Residency Award.
He receives commissions from leading orchestras, performers, and chamber music festivals, and performs recitals and concertos worldwide. A graduate of The Juilliard School and a 2024 resident at Yaddo, he now divides his time between New York City and Gardiner, NY, where he lives with his two cherished 19th-century Steinways.
At MacDowell, Brown worked on Endangered Carnival, a musical work inspired by The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns. The piece highlights endangered species, with movements dedicated to animals such as the cassowary, Javan rhino, and axolotl. A consortium led by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will present performances during the 2025-26 season. He also composed a piano piece in honor of his friend Shirley Perle, who passed away at the age of 100.
Portrait by Angeline Gragasin
