About

Michael Engelhardt
Composer · Conductor · Vocal Artist · Producer
St. Louis, MO | www.michaelengelhardt.com

Michael Engelhardt is a multifaceted vocal music artist whose work blurs the boundaries between the classical canon and contemporary sound. As a composer, conductor, producer, and vocalist based in St. Louis, Engelhardt has earned national recognition for his ability to craft emotionally resonant music that connects with performers and audiences alike. His compositions—characterized by their rhythmic vitality, harmonic color, and fusion of styles—have been heard on stages as revered as Carnegie Hall and across media networks including ABC, NBC, PBS, and NPR.

A native of Illinois, Engelhardt holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Millikin University. His catalog of over twenty published choral works is available through leading publishers including Walton/GIA, Hinshaw Music, and Alfred Music. His music is regularly featured at national, regional, and state conferences for ACDA, NAfME, and the Jazz Education Network, as well as in performances by All-State choirs, university ensembles, and professional vocal groups.

Equally active behind the scenes, Engelhardt has contributed to twelve full-length albums and numerous broadcast productions as a producer, arranger, and audio editor. His collaborative work spans genres, including vocal arranging and production for Grammy-winning artists such as Michael McDonald, Josh Groban, Take 6, Patti Austin, and Ben Folds. As co-producer and vocal director, his fingerprints are also present on projects by Brian Owens, Malena Smith, and Millikin University’s award-winning University Choir and OneVoice vocal jazz ensemble.

Engelhardt is the founder of Beer Choir, a national social singing movement that combines community, craft beer, and choral music into an inclusive and joyful experience. This intersection of artistry and accessibility is a hallmark of his career—whether he’s directing collegiate vocal jazz ensembles at Webster University, presenting at ACDA and JEN conferences, or leading large-scale choral productions with community and university choirs.

His passion for education and mentorship has led to faculty appointments at Mt. San Antonio College, Millikin University, and Webster University, where he has taught subjects ranging from songwriting and popular music history to conducting and choral methods. His conducting credits span sacred masterworks, vocal jazz, contemporary opera, and full-scale musical theatre.

Engelhardt’s work continues to bridge musical worlds—blending gospel, jazz, classical, folk, and electronic influences—into a singular artistic voice committed to community, innovation, and the transformative power of song.

Artist's Statement

My dad worked in a plastic molding factory and my mom was a dressmaker, so I have always lived in the tension between industry and artistry, pop culture and haute couture, blue jeans and white gowns. Artistically, I deliberately fuse these influences together to create pop-leaning, classically-crafted choral music. As a conductor, my stylistic and historical interests are wildly diverse. As a composer, there are two main genre hybrids that guide most of my creative output – Gospel/Soul and Ancient/Future. One involves retrofitting and the other is a kind of forward-fitting. 

After years of listening to Motown, funk, soul, and pop radio stations as a kid, it turns out that I am a very capable R&B singer myself (for a guy with a last name like Engelhardt). That, combined with my educational background in vocal jazz and classical choral music, has led to some incredibly fulfilling opportunities as a Gospel/Soul choir director, composer, singer, and producer. My ‘legit chops’ in the choral realm allow me to retrofit contemporary gospel ideas – jazz derivative harmonies, funk grooves, chest-voice belted triadic vocals, learned by rote – into a format more familiar to traditional 4-part (or more) choirs of intermediate to advanced ability level such as high school, university, community, and church choirs. 

The other main genre is a forward-fitting of historical choral material into radically modernized settings – what I call Ancient/Future. Using ancient source material such as chants, hymns, and ancient languages, I construct contemporary-sounding versions that also exhibit a high standard of compositional craftsmanship and scholarship. I often reach into my pop music toolkit to incorporate elements of groove, electronic programming, and industrial percussion. Harmonically, my preference is to allow the source melody to spin out into its own harmonic language, usually resulting in an array of brilliant cluster chords completely born from the original tune and mode. Edgy, unique, and rabidly ill-received by purists, the Ancient/Future genre represents my most innovative and recognizable contribution to the choral music field.

These hybrid genres just feel natural to me as they seem to bring unity to the inherent dichotomy of my musical background. They also provide a safe framework for exploring many dichotomies of the human experience – strength/weakness, joy/sorrow, faith/doubt, victory/victimhood, true self/false self, empowerment/discouragement, unity/division, harmony/discord. 

I consider myself a semi-independent composer because my approach to publishing is also hybrid in nature. Six works are published with the highly-esteemed Walton Music/GIA Publications, one is published by Hinshaw Music. The rest are self-published, sold via my website and the online music retail giant, J.W. Pepper. I have been honored to have my music grace the stage of Carnegie Hall three times in the past three years – once with the published work ‘Gaudete’ and twice with the self-published ‘I Will Sing.’

Although distinctly positive in vibe, my choral work frequently references personal forays into the shadow side of life which provides an honest and sober backdrop for often exuberant and groove-driven expressions of awe, joy, empowerment, and gratitude. A kindred invitation is extended to those who have also experienced contrasting seasons of darkness and light. Always, the goal is to facilitate moments when singers, conductors, and audiences can meet at the soul level – as deep cries unto deep.

Pursuit of that ideal has recently led to experimentation with a song-based approach to personal development, mental health, and social harmony. I have produced a number of my own community singing events, meditative singing exercises, and participatory songs that encourage vulnerable self-exploration. I am compelled by rapidly emerging research on the topics of positive psychology, meditation practice, neuroplasticity, and the role of music in memory and cognition. The overwhelming and ultimately inspiring conclusion is anything but surprising. Singing, especially group singing, holds an enormous untapped potential for psychological and social transformation. 

It makes me wonder: Is there a new genre waiting to be born? Could we create a style of participatory music that promotes personal wellness and social harmony? Could this new music have a measurable and sustainable positive effect on the lives of real people? What would it look like? What would it sound like? And once created, what would be the best vehicle for sharing it with the world?

Curriculum Vitae

Michael S. Engelhardt
Composer · Conductor · Vocal Artist · Producer
St. Louis, MO · (815) 703-7119 · mike@michaelengelhardt.com
www.michaelengelhardt.com

ARTISTIC PROFILE

A creator of choral landscapes that move between the sacred and the secular, the classical and the contemporary. With over two decades of experience as a composer, conductor, and vocal producer, my work lives at the intersection of innovation and tradition—heard on national stages, broadcast waves, and in community song. From founding a nationwide singing movement to producing award-winning recordings, I curate sound experiences that inspire connection and ignite the human voice.

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ROLES

Independent Choral & Vocal Artist · St. Louis, MO
Composer | Conductor | Vocalist | Producer | Arranger
2001–Present

  • Compositions featured by ABC, NBC, PBS, NPR, and at Carnegie Hall

  • 20+ published choral works (Walton/GIA, Hinshaw, Alfred)

  • Collaborated with artists including Josh Groban, Ben Folds, Take 6, and Michael McDonald

  • Founder of Beer Choir, a national movement blending communal song and revelry

  • Produced 12 albums and six televised programs

  • Audio producer and mixer for Choral Tracks LLC

  • Technical fluency: Logic Pro X, ProTools, Melodyne, ProPresenter, Finale

Webster University · St. Louis, MO
Instructor of Music
2023–Present

  • Director of Vocal Jazz Ensembles

  • Faculty in songwriting, arranging, and popular music history

Mt. San Antonio College · Walnut, CA
Professor of Vocal and Choral Music (1-Year Appointment)
2022–2023

  • Led multiple ensembles across jazz, classical, and pop idioms

  • Private voice instruction and masterclasses

Millikin University · Decatur, IL
Instructor of Music
2008–2014

  • Directed Collegiate Chorale, Women’s and Men’s Choirs, and BluBop Vocal Jazz

  • Orchestrated multi-camera Vespers broadcasts with lighting and supertitles

  • Conducted pit orchestra for operas and taught a broad curriculum from Conducting to Choral Methods

Decatur Park District · Decatur, IL
Music Director
2008–2010

  • Directed summer touring ensemble and community chorale of 100+ voices

  • Led inclusive youth musical programs

Willow Creek Community Church · Chicago, IL
Vocal Director & Essence Creator
2003–2006

  • Lead vocalist and worship creative at one of the nation’s largest churches

  • Directed Gospel Choir and composed/arranged for global conferences

Alderson-Broaddus University · Philippi, WV
Instructor of Music
1999–2001

  • Directed all choral ensembles and taught core music history and appreciation

SELECTED COMPOSITIONS

  • Don’t Give Up (2024, Alfred Music) – Co-written with Robert T. Gibson

  • United (2022, Walton/GIA) – Carnegie Hall premiere by Jason Max Ferdinand

  • I Will Sing (2020, Walton/GIA) – Dual Carnegie Hall performances

  • Love (2020, Walton/GIA) – Engineered by Grammy-winner Bill Hare

  • O Antiqui Sancti (2017, Walton/GIA) – Editor’s Choice, J.W. Pepper

  • I Believe, Wayfaring Stranger, Gaudete, Rest, and more – Widely performed at national choral conferences (ACDA, JEN)

View complete catalog: GIA Publications

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY (as Producer, Arranger, or Vocal Director)

  • Duets With Dad – Brian Owens feat. Thomas Owens & Michael McDonald (2025)

  • North Bound – Billy Gunther & the Midwest Riders (2023)

  • Otoño – OneVoice, Millikin University (2017, Downbeat Award Winner)

  • And On Earth Peace – St. Olaf College Choirs (2015)

  • Multiple Vespers and holiday albums with Millikin University and Luther College Choirs

SELECTED FESTIVALS & COMMISSIONS

  • 2025 Missouri ACDA All-State Vocal Jazz Ensemble – Conductor

  • 2024 Composer in Residence, Vocal Artists of Iowa

  • Jazz and Choral Festivals – Adjudicator/Clinician across the U.S. (Oceanside, Diablo Valley, Millikin, Eastern Show Choir)

  • 2017 ACDA National Conference – Presenter

HIGHLIGHTED PERFORMANCE/PRODUCTION CREDITS

  • Josh Groban, Ben Folds, O.A.R., Take 6, Patti Austin – Vocal arranging and background vocals

  • Michael McDonald – Video production for Night for Life benefit

  • Vespers at Millikin (NBC Broadcast) – Video and lighting production for 9+ years

  • Founding Director – Chapter 6, national award-winning a cappella ensemble

CONDUCTING PORTFOLIO

Major Works and Musical Theater (Pit Orchestra):

  • J.S. Bach, Bernstein, Brahms, Poulenc, Vivaldi, Whitacre, and more

  • The Music Man, The Wizard of Oz, Carousel, Joseph…, Crazy for You, among others

View conducting videos: michaelengelhardt.com/conducting

EDUCATION

M.M. in Choral Conducting – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
B.M. in Vocal Performance – Millikin University
Graduate studies in Choral Conducting – University of Northern Iowa

REFERENCES

Available upon request