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. The 2026-27 season will see performances at Carnegie Hall and the Berlin Philharmonie, among many others.

In June 2026, “Terezín Requiem” for large choir, soloists, and orchestra premiered in Berkeley, California with the BCCO. In the summer of 2027 it will tour to Amsterdam, Prague, and the Terezín Ghetto itself.

Other recent projects include a concerto for pianist Aaron Diehl and the Knights in honor of the centennial of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, which premiered at Carnegie Hall in October 2024; a concerto for Grammy-nominated violinist Tessa Lark and the Knoxville Symphony, Cycle of Life, was profiled in a PBS feature (Craft in America: “Harmony”);
and “Concerto No. 2: Anthem,” created in collaboration with Davóne Tines, Caroline Shaw, and Tyshawn Sorey, which the Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered at the Hollywood Bowl.

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.
In May 2026 it kicked off a touring production at Opera Philadelphia.

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