Michael Banwarth is currently the ensemble pianist for The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he has served as Assistant Conductor for productions of Blue by Jeanine Tesori and Champion by Terence Blanchard. With a particular passion for art song and recital repertoire, Michael has performed at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Wigmore Hall (London), and Jordan Hall (Boston). This summer, Michael appears alongside Travon D. Walker for the Carnegie Hall Citywide series, baritone Justin Austin for Florentine Opera’s “Al Fresco” recital series, soprano Adia Evans for Classical Music Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and soprano Karen Slack for her recital “Beyond the Years”. He also joins the music staff at the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie in Neumarkt, Germany. Also an avid performer of crossover repertoire, musical theatre, and American standards, his arrangements have been heard at venues including the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park, and on WFMT 98.7FM. Michael holds a M.M. in collaborative piano from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Cameron Stowe and Vivian Hornik Weilerstein. He completed a B.M. in piano performance at Iowa State University, studying under Mei-Hsuan Huang. He has held vocal piano fellowships at the Music Academy of the West, the Bay View Music Festival, and the Atlantic Music Festival.