2-time Emmy® Award Winner
Composer
Music Supervisor
Recording Artist
Michael was the music supervisor for the film "Veronika Decides to Die". He also scored the North American version of the film that will see it's release in late 2010 or early 2011. Based on the amazing novel by Paulo Coelho, it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as Veronika. Click image to go to the movie website.
"Cargo" (theatrical 2011)
Michael is the composer and music supervisor for the independent feature "Cargo"... A young Russian woman, smuggled into America by human traffickers, and a notorious Egyptian transporter, hired to drive her from the Mexican border to New York City, form an unlikely bond that transforms them and threatens to derail the traffickers' plans. Will be finished for the Fall Festival schedule....
Michael composed some music for this popular EA sports video game. Look for it in stores in the fall of 2010 Click image to go to the EA Website.
Michael is the composer and music supervisor for the documentary "Brothers on the Line"". "Brothers" tells the amazing story of the rise and fall of the United Auto Workers and the power and influence of the their leader, Walter Reuther. In post-production now. Click image to go to the movie website.
"The Sea of Transquility" is Michael's forthcoming ambient "masterpiece". This is Michael's first full ambient ambient recording since 2004's "Like Rain through My Hands" and fans all over the world are very excited about this project. You can hear an excerpt of one of the finished songs on the "listen" page on this website. Release details are forthcoming. Much more soon...
In Stores Now:
"The Road of Ghosts" (singer/songwriter)
"Lights Along the Highway" (classical)
"Dancing in Black and White" (new age/solo piano)
Michael is the composer and music supervisor for the the feature film "The Dissapearing Act". This thriller is in production now. Magic. Murder. Mystery. Look for it in 2011. More details soon!
"The Battle For Midway" National Geographic
"I Have Loved You for a Thousand Lifetimes" (music video)
Michael's YouTube Channel
Make A Wish "Future" :60
It is almost a certainty that no matter where you are on the planet, you've encountered the music of Michael Whalen. That's because Michael has composed over 550 television scores, show themes, and network IDs for nearly every network in the world. In addition to dozens of feature and short film credits, he has created thousands of commercials tracks for clients such as Coca-Cola, Apple, Disney and Nike. In the USA, he is best-known for the opening theme to ABC's "Good Morning America", music for "The Oprah Winfrey Show", the daytime drama "As The World Turns", the news magazine "Inside Edition" and countless PBS series such as "America at a Crossroads", The American Experience and "Slavery and the Making of America". His solo work is prolific as well, having produced his own 24 albums, including this year's best of collection "Dancing in Black and White", the classical compilation "Lights Along the Highway" and the forthcoming ambient music milestone "The Sea of Tranquility". Truly Michael's career is testament to his versatility and his ability to work in collaboration with others, a trait that has been immensely rewarding for Michael and his clients.
A two-time Emmy® Award winner and 8-time Emmy® Award nominee, Michael's relentless creative drive is now taking him into the world of music supervision, as he is currently working on the upcoming feature film, "Veronika Decides to Die" starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Michael believes, "scoring and music supervision is about trust and building relationships. What I enjoy the most is the process of going back and forth with a client and having THAT moment when we discover the best road and the ideal option for the music to go." Whalen is a creative unencumbered by the limits of musical genre and form; his music has spanned universes of style: ambient, jazz, world music, alternative, classical, electronic and all of the hidden spaces where those genres meet. Such a broad spectrum has led him to work on several high-profile recordings with some of music's all-time greats, including Stephen Sondheim, Brian Wilson, Carole King, Diane Warren, David Foster and film composers Howard Shore, Rachel Portman and Michael Kamen.
Michael is a New Yorker. Born in Long Island and now living in the historic neighborhood of Vinegar Hill in West Harlem. Michael is a professor at the City College of New York and teaches Film Scoring and Entrepreneurship for Artists and at NYU where he teaches a course on how pop music and film have influenced each other since the dawn of cinema. Since the summer of 2009, Michael has been doing stand-up comedy at local clubs in NYC. Coming soon: Michael's first novel. Makes you wonder... does this guy ever sleep? [Ben Lazar]
Selected Feature Films:
The Disappearing Act (Shooting Gallery) score & supervision 2010
Ratred 3-D (Mikrotone Films) score & supervision 2011
Veronika Decides to Die (Das Films) score & supervision 2010
Brothers on the Line (Porter Street Films) score & supervision 2010
What the Bleep Do We Know? additional 2004
Chasing Destiny score [starring Lauren Graham] 2000
One Hell of a Guy score [starring Rob Lowe] 1999
Perfect Moment score & supervision 1997 (soundtrack includes music by: Elton John, Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma & Sinead O'Connor)
Recent & Selected Documentary Television:
Expedition Apocalypse (National Geographic Channel 2010)
Cracking the Dinosaur Code (National Geographic Channel 2009)
Metropolitan & Cuba Museums Great Museums (PBS 2008)
Jesus: The Man Behind the Myth [1-hour special] (Discovery 2008]
Dinosaurs: Return to Life? [1-hour special] (Discovery 2008]
Super Comet: After the impact [2-hour special] (Discovery 2007]
America at the Crossroads [8-part series] Theme (PBS/CPB) 2007
2057 [3-hour special] score (Discovery 2007]
Andiamo [PBS pledge special] music producer & co-arranger (IDTV/Denon/PBS) 2007
The Great Fever score (American Experience/PBS 2006}
Red Velvet score (ARTE/National Geographic International) 2006
Slavery and the Making of America 4-hour series (PBS) 2005
Violent Hawaii score & sound design NATURE (PBS) 2005 (Emmy nominated music)
Judy Garland: By Myself (American Masters/PBS) (score) 2004
Sea Gypsies of the Forbidden Islands (National Geographic) 2004
Selected Themes & Network Television Packages:
The Oprah Winfrey Show (Harpo/King World) 2007 - 2010
Inside Edition (Incidental music) 2006 2010
WNET.Channel Thirteen National IDs & legal IDs (PBS) 2004 - 2010
Good Morning America theme package (ABC News) # 1997 - 2010
NATURE/WNET - series (PBS) 1993 - 2001
NOVA (PBS) 1999 - 2010 (co-composer)
HD Net & Commcast ID logos
Hallmark Entertainment Networks (Hallmark)
WBZ News/CBS Boston (CBS News)* (Emmy®-nominated music)
WCBS/New York (CBS News) additional themes & promos
Martha Stewart/Daytime (NBC Daytime)
selected credits - download PDF for full listing
Michael Whalen 2010 Credits
Michael on IMDB
The best of Michael Whalen
Michael Whalen's 2010 Internet Audio Reels
1997 Songs Without Words (Windham Hill - New Age) [Various]
1995 The Narada Christmas Collection 3 (Narada - New Age)
1995 Precious Waters (Narada - New Age) [Various]
1995 Forever Wild (Narada - Soundtrack
1994 Phantom of the Forest (Narada - Soundtrack)
1994 Great African Moments (Narada - Soundtrack)
1993 Sea Power: A Global Journey (Narada - Soundtrack)
2010 The Sea of Tranquility (MWM/Spout - Ambient)
2010 Lights Along the Highway (Arabesque - Classical)
2010 Dancing in Black in White (EverSound/MWM - New Age)
2009 The Road of Ghosts (MWM/Spout - Alternative/Pop)
2007 Jazzworks Volume 1 (MWM/Spout - Jazz)
2007 The Other Coast (MWM/Spout - Ambient)
2005 My Secret Heart (Narada/EMI - Ambient)
2005 Slavery and the Making of America (Valley - Soundtrack)
2004 From Conception to Birth (Valley - Ambient)
2004 Nightscenes (re-release) (Alchemy/MWM - Ambient)
2004 Like Rain Through My Hands (Alchemy/MWM - Ambient)
2000 Reel Life: Private Life of Film Composers (Arabesque) [Various]
2000 Lost Liners (MWM/PPI - Soundtrack)
1999 The Shadows of October (Arabesque - Classical)
1999 The Softest Touch (EverSound - New Age)
concerts, performances & shows
_ Caffe' Vivaldi 32 Jones Street (between Bleecker & 7th ave,)
no cover. no drink minimum
Wednesday September 15th
8:15pm - 9:15pm
solo show
Thursday October 7th
The Tree of Life (ambient)
The Tree of Life was an ambient sketch that Michael did in January of 2009. Created for people who like having music for Yoga, meditation or relaxation - the recording is made up of ONE track that is over an hour long. It is posted here for you in its entirety...
An Age Gone By (soundtrack)
An Age Gone By was part of the score to the PBS special Lost Liners. It is one of Michaels favorite projects.
Original Sin (singer/songwriter)
The Road of Ghosts project in 2009 was the first time Michael gave himself permission to sing lead on a recording. It was fun and nerve racking says Michael. Original Sin was the opening track from the project which features MW on keyboards, Tony Levin on Bass, Marc Copely on guitar and David Andrew Smith on backing vox.
River to the Sea (jazz/fusion)
Michael has done several projects which has combined jazz, fusion and ambient music to great effect. River to the Sea was originally intended for a Narada compilation . It was not actually released until Michael completed his North from Riverside project in 1997. This song features Chris Botti on trumpet, David Torn on guitar, Danny Gottlieb on drums, Reed Hays on modular synthesizer and David Weiss on shakuhatchi.
Waltzing with a Memory (classical)
Waltzing with a Memory is a piece that was recorded in the Czech Republic in the 1990s. It was intended to be on Michaels Shadows of October project. It will appear for the first time on Michaels Lights Along the Highway collection in March 2010. It is offered here for you. This recording was performed by the Janacek Philharmonic. Conducted by Dennis Burk.
this music is a gift to you
click on a cover to download a MP3
Manager - Josselyn Herman-Saccio
Publisher - Helene Blue Musique
Music Agent - Jeff Kaufman
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© 1995 - 2010 Michael Whalen Music, LTD. and Spout Multimedia
