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 L ...

'' and '' Us'', for which Abels won a World Soundtrack Award, 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'' franch ...

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 in 2009. Awards ''TheWrap'' has won awards for its journalism, incl ...

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

Fake Famous ''Fake Famous'' is a 2021 documentary film directed by Nick Bilton. It is a social experiment involving three non-famous people who attempt to become social media influencers by "faking" fame. They use tactics such as buying followers and faking ...

'', and the docu-series ''

Allen v. Farrow ''Allen v. Farrow'' is an American documentary television miniseries directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering that explores an allegation of sexual abuse made against Woody Allen in 1992. It consists of four episodes and premiered on February 21 ...

''. 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 class ...

, ''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 c ...

, 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 ...

. 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 Ginsburg, the son of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, founded Cedille Records as a for-profit cl ...

, 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 Me ...

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 capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

. 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 , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

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 wor ...

. 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) * ''

'' (2021) * '' Nightbooks'' (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 ...

'' (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 ...

* ''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