Micheál spent 14 years studying at the Cork School of Music, Ireland. He is a graduate of University College Cork, Ireland and the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary, where he studied under world-renowned pedagogue and Choral director, Péter Erdei. Micheál has held positions at the Canberra School of Music – Australian National University, the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music – University of Tasmania, and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) – Edith Cowan University, where, for over 25 years he has been Senior Lecturer in Music, specialising in the areas of Aural Training, Music Theory, and Choral Conducting.
In 1998 Micheál establlshed Cottage School of Music (now Cottage Music Institute), offering a unique form of Musicianship and Choral Training to students of every age from 2 years through to university level. For over 20 years his university choir, Eneksis, has had a reputation as one of the finest choirs in Australia. He is also a Choral Director at the Perth Choral Institute.
Micheál conducts regular workshops for teachers, students, and community organisations in Australia and overseas. He has been invited to present his work at national and international conferences – including the National Conference of Orff-Schulwerk and the Kodály Australia National Conference (Keynote presenter). He also worked as a consultant to the Singapore Ministry of Education on the development of creativity through music education.
In 2009, he received the Edith Cowan University Vice-Chancellor’s Award for excellence in teaching. In 2010, Micheál received a national teaching award – a ‘Citation for Excellence in Teaching’ – as part of the Australian Learning & Teaching Council’s ‘Australian Awards for University Teaching’.
In 2018 Micheál featured as ‘Classroom Music and Choir Mentor’ in the 3-part ABC Television documentary series, ‘Don’t Stop the Music’, a series that set out to show the transformative effect that music can have on schools. Since then, he has developed his own School Music Mentoring Programme, where he offers mentoring to music teachers in schools.
He is also the proud father of six children: Tadhg, Éilis, Conor, Rory, and twins, Flora & Adeline.
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