(picture may not be accurate representation)

Michael G. Sinshack
b. 17 August, 1971

Born in Chicago, Michael was primarily a self-taught musician until beginning formal theory classes in his second year of college. After attending DePaul University and Wright College in Chicago, Michael earned a Bachelor's Degree from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. There, he studied composition with Dr. Lawrence Sisk, and piano with Ms. Mary Beth Diab.  Following his graduation from Lewis, he returned there the following term as an adjunct instructor of percussion methods.  In 1998, he received his Master's Degree in music composition from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, where his primary composition instructor was Dr. John Downey.  Michael has also studied and worked with Electro-acoustic music under the direction of Dr. Jon Welstead.  For the past three years, Michael was the supervisor and care-taker of the Wisconsin Center for Music Technology for the University of Wisconsin—Madison School of Music, where he recently completed his DMA course work, studying composition with Stephen Dembski and Joel Naumann.  His master-class experiences include composers Roberto Sierra, Chen Yi, Thea Musgrave, and Robert Kyr, among others.  In the Spring of 1999, Michael won the second annual Concerto Concert Composition Competition at UW-Madison, and placed second out of 101 submitted scores in the 1998 Quinto Maganini Composition Competition in Norwalk, Connecticut.  Michael received UW concerto competition award again in the Winter of 2002.  Recent commissions include Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, Inc., First Listen, Flutes Quatre, and the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band.  Michael’s music was recently recorded through the UW School of Music.   He is a member of ASCAP, the Society for Composers, Inc., American Composers Forum, and the Editor for Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, Inc.

(January, 2003)