Michael Abels

1962 -

About

Michael Abels (b. 1962), two-time Emmy-nominated composer, is known for his genre-defying scores for the Jordan Peele films GET OUT and US. Abels’ creative output also includes many concert works, including AT WAR WITH OURSELVES for the Kronos Quartet, “ISOLATION VARIATION” for Hilary Hahn, and the opera OMAR co-composed with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Rhiannon Giddens. His scores have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and many others. Many of these pieces are available on Cedille Records, including “DELIGHTS & DANCES” and “WINGED CREATURES.” Current commissions include a work for the National Symphony, and a guitar concerto for Grammy-nominated artist Mak Grgić.

Abels' score for the 2019 film, US, won a World Soundtrack Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award, a Critics Choice nomination, and multiple critics' awards. The hip-hop influenced score for US was short-listed for the Oscar and was even named “Score of the Decade” by The Wrap. Other recent media projects include the films BAD EDUCATION, NIGHTBOOKS, FAKE FAMOUS, and the docu-series ALLEN v. FARROW. Current releases include BEAUTY which premiered at the Tribeca Festival and is now streaming on Netflix, BREAKING (formerly “892") which premiered at Sundance, and Abels’ third collaboration with Jordan Peele, NOPE.

Introduced to music via the family piano on the small farm in South Dakota where he lived with his grandparents, Abels began showing an innate curiosity towards music at age 4. His music-loving grandparents convinced the local piano teacher to take him on as a student despite his age. At age 8, Abels began composing music, and by age 13, his first completed orchestral work was performed.

Upon graduating from high school, Abels attended the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles. Abels, who is mixed race, eventually studied West African drumming techniques at California Institute for the Arts and sang in a predominantly black church choir to further explore his African-American roots.

Abels is co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, gaming, and streaming media.

Related Information

Photo by Eric Schwabel

Works by Michael Abels