Michael Abels (born October 8, 1962) is an American composer best known for his genre-defying scores for the

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...

films ''

Get Out ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...

'' and '' Us'', for which Abels won a

World Soundtrack Award The World Soundtrack Awards, launched in 2001 by the Film Fest Gent, is aimed at organizing and overseeing the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music, including the preservation of the history of the soundtrack and i ...

, the

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...

Award, a Critics Choice nomination, and multiple' critics awards. The hip-hop influenced score for ''Us'' was short-listed for the

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and was even named “Score of the Decade” by ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...

''. Other recent media projects include the films '' Bad Education'', ''

Nightbooks ''Nightbooks'' is a 2021 American dark fantasy film directed by David Yarovesky and written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. It is based on the 2018 horror-fantasy children's book of the same name by J. A. White. The film stars Winslow Fe ...

'', '' Fake Famous'', and the docu-series '' Allen v. Farrow''. Current releases include ''Beauty'' which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix, '' Breaking'' (formerly ''892'') which premiered at Sundance, and his third collaboration with Jordan Peele, '' Nope''. Abels’ works also includes many concert works, such as ''At War With Ourselves'' for the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

, ''Isolation Variation'' for

Hilary Hahn Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. She has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemporary classical music, and several ...

, and the opera ''Omar'' co-composed with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens i ...

. Some of these pieces are available on the

Cedille Records Cedille Records () is the independent record label of the Chicago Classical Recording Foundation. History In 1989, James Steven Ginsburg, James Ginsburg, the son of Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice of th ...

, including ''Delights & Dances'' and ''Winged Creatures''. Current commissions include a work for the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

and a guitar concerto for Mak Grgić. 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.

Early life

Abels was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. He spent his early years on a small farm in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, where he lived with his grandparents. Introduced to music via the family piano, he began showing an innate curiosity towards music at age 4.De Lerma, Dominique-Rene
"African Heritage Symphonic Series Vol. III"
Liner note essay. Cedille Records CDR066. 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 The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Abels, who is mixed race, eventually studied West African drumming techniques at

California Institute for the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bot ...

, and sang in a predominantly black church choir to further explore his

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

roots.

Filmography

Composer * ''

'' (2017) * '' Us'' (2019) * '' See You Yesterday'' (2019) * ''

All Day and a Night ''All Day and a Night'' is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Joe Robert Cole. It stars Jeffrey Wright, Ashton Sanders and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. It was released on May 1, 2020, by Netflix. Plot An aspiring rapper named Jahkor L ...

'' (2020) * '' Bad Education'' (2020) * '' Fake Famous'' (2021) * ''

'' (2021) * '' Nope'' (2022) * '' Breaking'' (2022) Additional music * ''

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

'' (2017)

Other works

* ''Falling Sky'', ballet (2020) * ''At war with ourselves'', a concert piece on a poem by

Nikky Finney Nikky Finney (born Lynn Carol Finney on August 26, 1957, in Conway, South Carolina) is an American poet. She was the Guy Davenport Endowed Professor of English at the University of Kentucky for twenty years. In 2013, she accepted a position at t ...

* ''Omar'', an original opera on the life of Omar ibn Said co-composed by

* ''Get Out'', in concert (2020)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Profile at SubitoMusic.comIMDB PageMichael Abels Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abels, Michael 1962 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century American male musicians African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American film score composers African-American male classical composers American film score composers American male classical composers Living people American male film score composers Musicians from Phoenix, Arizona Musicians from South Dakota USC Thornton School of Music alumni Classical musicians from Arizona 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians