Michael Schachter is a composer, writer, and pianist based in Burlington, VT.


His compositions have been performed at venues ranging from Lincoln Center to the Smithsonian to the Minnesota Centennial Showboat. Upcoming commissions include a new concerto for pianist Aaron Diehl and the Knights in honor of the centennial of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, as well as large-scale projects for the 2024 MakeMusic Festival and Grammy-winning choir Conspirare.

His concerto for Grammy-nominated violinist Tessa Lark and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Cycle of Life, premiered to rave reviews in April 2022 and was profiled in a recent PBS feature (Craft in America: “Harmony”).


Also in 2022, the Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered “Concerto No. 2: Anthem” at the Hollywood Bowl, created in collaboration with Davóne Tines, Caroline Shaw, and Tyshawn Sorey.

His music-theater piece, The Black Clown (libretto co-written with and starring Davóne Tines, directed by Zack Winokur) premiered with sold-out runs at the American Repertory Theater and Lincoln Center, where it was a New York Times Critic’s Pick.


He is also developing projects for stage and film as writer and composer with Seaview Productions.


As a [lapsed] scholar, Michael recently completed a three-year term as a Junior Fellow in the Harvard University Society of Fellows.