Michael Olson, D.A.

Education

• D.A. in Music Composition and Technology from Ball State University
• M.M. in Music Technology from Georgia Southern University
• B.M. in Music Industry from Minnesota State University, Moorhead

Biography

Michael James Olson is a musical creative whose work is as eclectic as his wardrobe. From writing orchestral pieces for the concert hall to singsong pop melodies, ambient or electronic music, Michael’s work is ever evolving to new places with new collaborators.Based in Minnesota, Michael has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe. His work has received press in publications such as the Dallas Morning News, Fanfare, MPR, and Music Street Journal. His music and production can be heard on more than 40 albums, and has been licensed to dozens of tv programs on networks such as MTV, E, ABC, Showtime, TLC, FOX, Animal Planet, VH1, Spike, PBS, and more. His concert music has received nearly 200 performances in the US and throughout the world including Denmark, Germany, UK, Ireland, Italy, Argentina, India, and Spain, among others. You can find his music on all major streaming platforms.

Michael is an artist and performer who uses electronic music, video, guitar, and Tibetan singing bowls to create lush ambient landscapes. Michael’s work draws heavily on life in the upper Midwest: open spaces, grey skies, beautiful lakes, and dramatic seasons. Michael’s first solo album, “What Comes After,” fuses these narrative elements with reverb-laden guitar loops, e-bow, electronic processing, ambient beats, and video to create a vibrant abstract terrain. His current projects include co-creator and songwriter for “This Taco Is A Keeper: A New Musical” which has received workshop performances in the Midwest, an album of ambient meditations for Tibetan bowls, and an Art-Pop Album collaboration which will be released in 2024.

Michael holds degrees in Music Industry, Music Technology, and Music Composition and Intermedia Art from Minnesota State, Georgia Southern, and Ball State University. He continues to perform regularly at conferences and festivals, and has lectured at universities throughout the U.S. on subjects such as creativity, entrepreneurship, and making your way in the music industry. He currently serves as Director of Music Industry and Technology at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Recordings

• 2019: Michael James Olson, “What Comes After,” Columbia Sounds, (Composer/Producer).
• 2017: Michael James Olson, “Before Reminiscence” METropolis, Volume 1, Beneficience Records, (Composer)
• 2017: Michael James Olson, “Murmurs” on Sn (Stannum), Janus Music and Sound (Germany), (Composer)
• 2016: 32 Below, EP Sessions, UIRF Records, (Songwriter)
• 2016: 32 Below, I Wrote For You [Single Release], UIRF Records, (Songwriter)
• 2015: Blue Muse, Blue Muse Live!, Dolphinium Records (Engineer, Producer)
• 2015: Kimberly Beasley, Fashion Sense: Songs In Recital, Dolphinium Records (Engineer, Producer)

Performances/Presentations

2019:

• Guest Artist Residency and Performance, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT.
• 2019: Edwards Distinguished Professor of the Arts Residency, Marshall University, Huntington, WV.
• 2019: F(r)E(e)D(o)M with Aaron Humble, MoxSonic Festival, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO.
• 2019: Solo Performance, 2/24, Root Signals Electronic Music Festival, GA.

2018:

• Set Me As A Seal, Jacksonville University Choir, Electroacoustic Barndance, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, FL.
• “Unraveling” and “Along The North Shore” Studio Z, St. Paul, MN.
• Solo Recital of Full Album “What Comes After”, Minnesota State University, Mankato.
• Along The North Shore, MoxSonic Festival, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO.
• The Glimmering Deep, After Reminiscence, Root Signals Electronic Music Festival, Statesboro, GA.
• Emergence and Telsonic, Ohio University, Oxford Ohio.
• Altair, University of Virginia Electronic Music Ensemble, Charlottesville, VA.

2017:

• Shortwave Songs, What Comes After, and Farewells, Root Signals Electronic Music Festival, Statesboro, GA.
• Along The North Shore and Savannah, 11/5, Third Practice Festival, University of Richmond Richmond, VA.
• Altair, 11/16, Wayne State Electronic Music Ensemble, Detroit, MI.
• Altair, 10/18, Wayne State Electronic Music Ensemble, Detroit, MI.
• Shortwave Songs, 9/30, Electronic Music Midwest, Kansas City Community College, Kansas City, KS.
• Savannah, 10/16, Studio Z Composer’s Night, St. Paul MN.
• Flux Beta, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, NYC, NY.
• Before Reminiscence, Ashmolean Museum of Art, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
• Before Reminiscence, Audiograft Festivval, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
• Altair, SUNY Potsdam Electronic Music Ensemble, Potsdam, NY.
• Along The North Shore, 9/23 Jacksonville University Percussion Ensemble, Jacksonville, FL.
• Set Me As A Seal, University Singers winter concert, Mankato, MN.

2016:

• Emergence, New Music Ensemble, Florence, Italy.
• Flux Beta, EM|Two, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.
• Altair and Along The North Shore, 11/17, EMIC fall concert, Mankato, MN.
• Emergence, 6/5, Art and Science Days, Bourges, France.
• Along The North Shore, 10/11, Electroacoustic Barndance, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA.
• [in] Pieces | Slivers, Drift Station Gallery Jukebox, Driftstation.org.
• Along The North Shore, 11/13, Electronic Music Midwest, Lewis University,  Romeoville, IL.
• Before Reminiscence, Cicadia Consort, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
• Altair, EMIC Ensemble, 3/30, Minnesota State University, Mankato.
• Heliocentric, SEAMUS National Conference, Georgia Southern University,Statesboro, GA.

2015:

• Emergence, 9/25, International Computer Music Conference, North Texas State University, Denton, TX.
• Emergence, 11/29, New York University New Music Ensemble, New York University, New York, NY.
• After Reminiscence, and Altair 9/14, Root Signals Electronic Music Festival, Jacksonville, FL.
• Emergence, Society of Composers National Conference (selected, not performed), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
• Emergence, 2/20, Contemporary Music Festival, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
• Flux Beta, 11/20 EMM, Kansas City Community College, Kansas City, KS.
• Emergence, 4/28 Noisefloor Festival, Staffordshire University, Staffordshire, UK.
• [in] Pieces | Slivers, 3/25, New Music Concert, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.
• Emergence, 3/12, Ball State Festival of New Music, Muncie, IN.
• Emergence, 5/2, New York University New Music Ensemble, New York University, New York, NY.

Social Media

• www.instagram.com/dr.mjo