Michael Sikich is an American classical pianist based in London, England who was praised by the Herald Times as a “genuine talent.” A native of Santa Barbara, California, he gave his debut solo recital as part of the Belz-Parker Young Artist Series and has performed with orchestras throughout the United States. He is a recipient of the Somerset Song Prize for Best Pianist and the Piano Accompaniment Prize from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he is completing a postgraduate degree on scholarship studying song accompaniment with Julius Drake and solo piano repertoire with Peter Bithell. He was a finalist in the YMF Debut Concerto Competition in Los Angeles and has received awards from the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition, and the Santa Barbara Music Club, which presented him with the Sergej Rakhmaninov Award for Outstanding Piano Virtuosity. He recently performed in song recitals at the Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall, and LSO St. Luke’s.

Michael earned his bachelor of music degree at the IU Jacobs School of Music as a recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award under the instruction of Edward Auer and a certificate in arts administration, completing courses in marketing, accounting, and management. In addition, he studied privately with the chorus master of Atlanta Opera, Walter Huff, in areas of accompanying, vocal coaching, and rehearsal of opera choruses. While at the Jacobs School, he performed with the Concert Orchestra and the IU Summer Festival Orchestra as winner of two concerto competitions. He has attended the Franz Schubert Institute, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the PianoTexas International Academy, studying with notable teachers including Roger Vignoles, Jerome Lowenthal, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Helmut Deutsch.

Venturing outside the realm of classical music, Michael was the bandleader/pianist for the jazz combo Cut Time, which performed throughout Southern California. He studied jazz theory and composition and premiered and professionally recorded his original composition “Standing Up” for 8-piece jazz band. He currently studies jazz piano with Prof. Barry Green at the Guildhall School. In collaboration with the IU Media School and the IU Jacobs School Ballet Program, he created music video piano covers of recent pop songs in a project designed to bridge the gap between classical and pop music.