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


His compositions have been performed at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to the Smithsonian to the Minnesota Centennial Showboat. Recent commissions: the Los Angeles Philharmonic (in collaboration with Davóne Tines, Caroline Shaw, and Tyshawn Sorey), Grammy-winning choir Conspirare and the Miró Quartet.


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”).


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 his first project for television as writer, composer, and executive producer 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.