Michael Roth is a composer, living and working in California, working at many arts centers and theatres throughout North America.

A composer, conductor, pianist, arranger, and sound designer. Michael has composed music for chamber ensembles, film, dance, and quite a bit for theatre.

He has composed operas and music/theatre pieces - the CD of his acclaimed chamber opera THEIR THOUGHT AND BACK AGAIN (for two singers, six dancers, string quartet, and piano) is available via e-mail, CDBaby and i-Tunes.

"THEIR THOUGHT AND BACK AGAIN is the kind of collection of songs that one could imagine Charles Ives composing, had he lived long enough to encounter rock-and-roll and beat poetry." - - Stephen Nunns/American Theatre Magazine

Michael has composed the scores and designed the sound for over 250 theatre projects at theatres across the country, including many productions on and off-Broadway, over 35 productions at La Jolla Playhouse, where he was a composer-in-residence, and over 45 at South Coast Repertory, where he has been a resident artist.

In addition, he has collaborated with composer Randy Newman on many projects - editing five definitive anthologies of his music, orchestrating his FAUST, creating the music/theatre piece, THE EDUCATION OF RANDY NEWMAN, seen in California and Seattle, and music directing the Disney animated feature, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG.

UPCOMING PROJECTS:

Winner, American Composers Forum Subito Grant for his work-in-progress setting of Samuel Beckett's IMAGINATION DEAD IMAGINE.

Winner of first annual American Composers Forum/LA Composer's Competition for his STREICH, for flute, violin, viola, cello (2009).

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG - musical direction for the new Disney animated feature, music and lyrics by Randy Newman (2009).

THE TEMPEST - composing music for the upcoming Stratford Shakespeare Festival production, with Christopher Plummer as Prospero (2010).

JEWS AND BASEBALL - composing the score for the new documentary by Peter Miller, upcoming on PBS.

LANDSCAPE THE TAR ROOF TREE- a work-in-progress music/theatre collaboration with Alice Ripley and others (Joy Gregory, Kayla Williams, et al, 2009-10).

***The opening movement of LANDSCAPE THE TAR ROOF TREE, a 12 minute a capella motet for 8 singer/actors, was premiered at the ACF/LA Salon in January, 2007.

JUDGE NOT - opera-music/theatre project - a work-in-progress/collaboration with Nell Benjamin.

RECENT PROJECTS:

MACBETH - score for the 2009 Stratford Shakespeare Festival production, directed by Des McAnuff, featuring Colm Feore.

ION - American premiere of David Lan's adaptation of Euripides' play, featuring a new score for solo cello (Caleb Jones) and a chorus of 5 - Shakepeare Theatre Company, DC.

YOUR NAME HERE - score and songs for a new movie by Matthew Wilder (independent, 2007-08).

ROMEO AND JULIET - composing the score for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival production in Canada, Des McAnuff's first production as artistic director.

THE PERSIANS - score for Aeschuylus play, originally commisioned by Tony Randall and the National Actors Theatre (2003), performed live, for 2 percussionists and solo cello - Shakespeare Theatre, DC (2006).

A BODY OF WATER - music for the world premiere of the play by Lee Blessing (Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, 2005), and the subsequent production at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego (2006).

GOING TO ST IVES - music for the New York premiere (off-Broadway) of Lee Blessing's play (Primary Stages, New York, 2005).

BROOKLYN BOY - music for the world premiere/Broadway production of Donald Margulies' play (Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, 2005).

LANDMINES & ERW SAFETY - composed music, designed/mixed sound for an interactive DVD for UN workers worldwide, produced by the UN and the UCLA Center for International Emergency Medicine.

PUT YOUR PENCIL DOWN - musical film, collaboration with Joy Gregory (Raw Impressions, 2005).

MELANCHOLY PLAY - music for the LA premiere of Sarah Ruhl's play, a performance piece for solo cello and actors (Echo Theatre Company, 2005), subsequent performances in Seattle, Fort Worth, Santa Barbara, Kentucky).

PEOPLE BE HEARD - music/theatre collaboration with Quincy Long (Playwright's Horizons, NY, 2004).

FIREFLOW - music/theatre collaboration with Erik Ehn (Bottom's Dream, LA, 2004).

ALLEGORY OF WHITENESS - music/theatre collaboration with Mac Wellman (Humana Festival, Louisville, 2001).

ANTHOLOGY # 2 - new anthology of Randy Newman's music and songs, this one consisting of music written for film, theatre, and television, published by Alfred Music - in stores and at Amazon.com.

NIGHTHAWKS - score for a new play by Douglas Steinberg, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles (September, 2006).

NOTHING SACRED - score for a production at South Coast Repertory (September, 2006).