Michael is the Artistic Director of Consonance-Chicago Choral Artists, leading the ensemble into performances of contemporary works focused on pressing social issues of our day.  Michael has also served as Cantor at Grace Lutheran Church and School in River Forest, Illinois, since 2008, serving as primary organist, directing choirs, and serving as director of Grace’s Bach Cantata Vespers series. A native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Michael has served parishes in Pennsylvania and the Carolinas as a church musician and also served St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Columbia, South Carolina as an assistant pastor.

Michael graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, and studied Sacred Music with Paul D. Weber and Florence Jowers. In 1999 Michael won the Ruth and Paul Manz award and won the Region IV Young Organists Competition of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) in the same year, then performing during the AGO’s 2000 national convention in Seattle, Washington. A portion of that program aired on National Public Radio’s Pipe Dreams.

Michael graduated in 2006 from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina, with a Master of Divinity degree and was ordained at the South Carolina Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in May 2006. After serving for two years in Columbia, South Carolina as a pastor and teaching on the adjunct faculty in worship and music at Southern Seminary, Michael was called to Grace Lutheran Church and School.

Michael is known best for creative hymn improvisations and sensitive service playing at the organ console. A composer of music for both choir and organ, many of Michael’s choral pieces and organ collections are published by MorningStar Music Publishers, several of which are included in a series called Sacred Music from Lenoir-Rhyne. Other pieces are published by Augsburg Fortress, Concordia Publishing House, Northwestern Publishing House, and GIA.

In the summers of 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2024 Michael led the Bach Cantata Vespers Chorus of Grace tours to Germany, England, and Norway. The highlight of each tour was singing for a Sunday service at the Leipzig Thomaskirche, the church Johann Sebastian Bach served from 1723 until his death in 1750. In 2024 the Bach Cantata Vespers Chorus sang three cantatas under Michael’s direction in their debut performance at Bachfest Leipzig with the Leipzig Baroque Orchestra. They plan to appear again at the festival in 2027. Michael has prepared and directed the Bach Cantata Vespers Chorus and Orchestra in their first performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, the Mass in B Minor, and Christmas Oratorio, and has directed cantatas in over 150 services at Grace

Michael is an active member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, the American Guild of Organists, and the American Choral Directors Association.

Our Singers

Basses

Jonathan Cortez
Jack Ellis
Ian Murrell
Carlo Ordoñez
Jonathan Rodney
Vaughn Roste
Jon Siegel
Brenner Swenson
Aaron Wardell
Peter Wesolski

Consonance is an ensemble of dedicated musicians that has been presenting innovative music making to Chicago audiences for 50 years. Consonance continually seeks to present excellent interpretations of engaging repertoire, creating a vibrant thread of music which connects the director, the singers and the audience. Our programs often feature new commissions and music of diverse cultures in tandem with fresh interpretations of classic masterworks.

Founded in 1975, our ensemble has been known as the James Chorale, Chicago Choral Artists, and now Consonance. Unveiled in the fall of 2024, Consonance was chosen as the new name for our ensemble because it represents the harmony that is created when different components or people come together.

Consonance has enjoyed many performances both locally and internationally. Our work has been featured on NPR, WBEZ, WFMT, WNIB, and ABC TV.