Biography

Michael Finlay is an award-winning concert pianist and chamber musician, most recently invited to perform at the Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago and the Metropolitan Detroit Musician’s League in Michigan. He is a 2022 prizewinner of The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award. He maintains an active performing schedule with recent performances in Catania (Italy), Montreal, Toronto, Austin, San Antonio, Denver, and Atlanta. His performances have been broadcast on classical radio stations in Austin, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Montreal. He is a frequent concerto soloist, most recently performing with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and the Southwest Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Finlay has performed with prominent members of the Cleveland, Chicago, and Montreal Symphony orchestras as well as with members of the Catalyst, Kontras, and Koerner quartets. A recent concert with cellist Jean Hatmaker was hailed as “sensitive and commanding” by WFMT, Chicago’s classical radio station.

Upcoming projects include a video performance of the complete Beethoven violin sonata cycle with Denver-based violinist Byron Hitchcock and a solo album featuring the Liszt Sonata. Finlay began his piano studies with Kathryn Mishell in Austin, TX. He left home at the age of 15 to study at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy on a full scholarship. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he worked with Paul Schenly, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, and Kathryn Brown; a Master’s from the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Yong Hi Moon; and a Doctorate from the University of Montreal, where he studied with Marc Durand.