# Geoffrey Michaels

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**Geoffrey Michaels** (19 June 1944 – 17 February 2024) was an Australian violinist and violist.[1] A child prodigy in Australia during the 1950s, he performed and taught primarily in the United States.

## Early life and education

Born in 1944 in [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia),[2] Michaels began taking violin lessons at the age of five, and soon was recognized as a prodigy.[3] At 14, he became the youngest performer ever to win the [Australian Broadcasting Commission](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Commission)'s concerto competition,[4] and made his first recording, which sold out within weeks of its release.[5]

At the age of 16 he went to the United States to attend the [Curtis Institute of Music](/source/Curtis_Institute_of_Music), where he studied violin with [Efrem Zimbalist](/source/Efrem_Zimbalist), and violin and viola with [Oscar Shumsky](/source/Oscar_Shumsky).[2]

## Career

While still a student he became a member of the [Curtis String Quartet](/source/Curtis_String_Quartet). He then pursued a solo career, winning the fourth annual Emma Feldman Competition[6] in Philadelphia, and placing among the finalists in the [Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition](/source/Long-Thibaud-Crespin_Competition) in Paris, the [Queen Elizabeth Competition](/source/Queen_Elizabeth_Competition) in Brussels, and the [Tchaikovsky Competition](/source/Tchaikovsky_Competition) in Moscow, where he played Zimbalist's "Coq d'Or Fantasy".[7]

Michaels was a professor at [Florida State University](/source/Florida_State_University) and the [University of British Columbia](/source/University_of_British_Columbia), and also maintained teaching affiliations with [The New School of Music](/source/New_School_of_Music,_Philadelphia), [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) and [Swarthmore College](/source/Swarthmore_College).[2]

## Performances

Notable contemporary concerto performances include the US premiere of [Alfred Schnittke](/source/Alfred_Schnittke)’s Concerto Grosso[8] (broadcast on Voice of America), and [Arvo Pärt](/source/Arvo_P%C3%A4rt)'s [Tabula Rasa](/source/Tabula_Rasa_(P%C3%A4rt)) for Two Violins and Strings[9] and [Fratres](/source/Fratres),[10] both at [Lincoln Center](/source/Lincoln_Center) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).

During his many tours of Australia, he collaborated with pianist and composer [Roger Smalley](/source/Roger_Smalley). Smalley's "Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano" (1990–91), commissioned by the [Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition](/source/Melbourne_International_Chamber_Music_Competition), bears the dedication "To Geoffrey Michaels".[11]

Michaels was a founding member of the Liebesfreud Quartet,[12] and also performed in many other chamber ensembles, including the Janus Piano Trio, Performers' Committee for Twentieth Century Music (New York), Richardson Chamber Players (Princeton), and Vancouver New Music Society.[13]

## Death

Geoffrey Michaels died on 17 February 2024, aged 79, at the Samaritan Center in [Voorhees Township, New Jersey](/source/Voorhees_Township,_New_Jersey), from complications of [Parkinson's disease](/source/Parkinson's_disease).[1]

## References

1. Miles, Gary (23 February 2024). ["Geoffrey Michaels, celebrated violin prodigy and longtime music teacher, has died at 79"](https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/geoffrey-michaels-obituary-violin-curtis-philadelphia-collingswood-australia-20240223.html). *The Philadelphia Inquirer*. Retrieved 25 February 2024.

1. ["Geoffrey Michaels – Australie, °1944"](https://concoursreineelisabeth.be/fr/laureats/geoffrey-michaels/152/). [Queen Elisabeth Competition](/source/Queen_Elisabeth_Competition). Retrieved 22 February 2024.

1. ["Talent for Violin: "Phenomenal" Boy in Perth"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48199126). *The West Australian*. 1 May 1951. Retrieved 1 September 2013.

1. ["Boy Wins Concerto Contest"](https://books.google.com/books?id=PuoKAQAAIAAJ&q=Geoffrey+Michaels). *Music and Dance*. **49–50**: 61. 1958. Retrieved 1 September 2013.

1. ["Listen Here: Classics"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44799258). *The Australian Women's Weekly*. 21 October 1959. Retrieved 1 September 2013.

1. "Violin Prizes Announced". *Music Educators Journal*. **57** (1): 22. September 1970.

1. Malan, Roy (2004). [*Efrem Zimbalist: A Life*](https://archive.org/details/efremzimbalistli00roym/page/279). Pompton Plains, NJ: Amadeus Press. p. [279](https://archive.org/details/efremzimbalistli00roym/page/279). ISBN 978-1574670912.

1. Rothstein, Edward (8 January 1982). "Evening With a Lively Composer From Soviet". *New York Times*

1. Holland, Bernard (12 March 1984). "Music: Continuum". *New York Times*

1. "Part: Revels in Sonority". *High Fidelity Musical America*. **34** (2): 29. 1984.

1. Smalley, Roger. ["Trio for violin, cello and piano"](http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/workversion/smalley-roger-trio-for-violin-cello-and-piano/7937). *Australian Music Centre*. Facsimile of composer's score held at the Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 8 October 2013.

1. ["Curtis Mourns the Passing of Geoffrey Michaels (Violin '60)"](https://www.curtis.edu/news/curtis-mourns-the-passing-of-geoffrey-michaels-violin-60/). *Curtis Institute of Music*. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

1. "Obituaries". *Strad*. **135** (1610): 14. June 2024.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Geoffrey Michaels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Michaels) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Michaels?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.