MICHELE MCLAUGHLIN BIOGRAPHY
Michele McLaughlin is a Contemporary Solo Pianist & Composer. She has released twenty albums, many of which have received multiple nominations and awards, including "Album of the Year", "Song of the Year" and "Top Picks". Her albums, "Life", "Undercurrent" and "Memoirs", charted on the New Age Billboard Charts at #7, #5 and #4. She has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine and has over 1.5 Billion Spins on Pandora Radio. Her original solo piano compositions are often described as "musical storytelling" and are haunting and contagious, relaxing and beautiful, peaceful and touching, energetic and inspiring. Her music is a regular favorite on Pandora Radio and is a bestseller on iTunes and Amazon, often landing her in the Top Ten New Age Charts. You can listen to Michele online via Whisperings Solo Piano Radio, Pandora Radio, iTunes Radio, Spotify, XM/Sirius and Music Choice Soundscapes.
"McLaughlin is what I refer to as a "heart on her sleeve" composer, i.e. there is no subterfuge, no subtlety at work in her music - she presents her emotional intent of a song forthwith and front and center. It's a testament to her considerable talent that this baring of her soul always works so well, because in the hands of a lesser talent, the music would be melodramatic, overly self-conscious, and would grow tiresome. However, it's not just her technique and artistry, which is impossible to ignore, but also her artist's soul, which seems woven into every piece of music she writes. No matter how pyrotechnic she can be (and this woman can really play piano with the best of 'em), there is always the presence of heart, sometimes "in your face" and sometimes between the lines, but never hidden behind artifice." Bill Binkelman- Wind & Wire and Zone Music Reporter
Michele started playing piano when she was very young. Her earliest memories are around the age of 5, playing piano for show-n-tell in kindergarten. She’s always had a musical ear, and could figure out any melody she heard. She has always been drawn to pianos… if there was a piano or keyboard in the room, she gravitated toward it, longing to touch and play it.
Michele started composing around the age of 8 and was very shy about her music growing up. She would write songs, but then be too embarrassed to share them with anyone. Over the years, she composed dozens of songs that only her close
immediate friends and family heard. It wasn’t until the year 2000, when her mom asked her to make a cassette tape of her music, that she released an album. “I had a makeshift recording setup… a borrowed digital piano, a tape recorder, and a quiet room. I recorded 20 of my favorite pieces I’d composed over the years, mistakes and all, titled the album “Beginnings” and made a couple dozen copies to give to friends and family. What I didn’t expect was the overwhelming flow of positive feedback from everyone. Comments like “Wow, I didn’t know you played so well!” or “You really should make more of these!”, and “This is some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard!” left me feeling a whole new world of emotions about my music than I’d ever felt before.”
This is when Michele decided to step it up a notch and record a “real album”. She purchased a digital piano and consulted her uncle who owns a recording studio on the ins and outs of recording at home. Feeling especially inspired and motivated by all the positive feedback she had received, she composed and recorded 16 songs over a four month period and released her second (but first official) album “Elysium”. The response she received was even more overwhelming than it had been with
“Beginnings” and she was so inspired that she decided to try and make a career out of being a musician.
Over the next six years, Michele released an additional six albums, started selling music online, and began building an
impressive fan base. In 2007, her dream of making music her career became reality when she was able to quit her corporate job to work on music full-time. In the thirteen years she has spent as a full time musician, she has released more than a dozen albums and has been featured on several compilation albums as well. Her music is a regular favorite on Pandora Radio and Spotify, and is a bestseller on iTunes and Amazon, often landing her in the Top Ten New Age Charts. She has been featured on radio stations worldwide, including SiriusXM, MusicChoice Soundscapes, Whisperings Solo Piano Radio and Echoes.
Michele performs and tours regularly and has played in over 200 concerts. She also runs her own in-home concert series and recording studio in her hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah.
"McLaughlin is what I refer to as a "heart on her sleeve" composer, i.e. there is no subterfuge, no subtlety at work in her music - she presents her emotional intent of a song forthwith and front and center. It's a testament to her considerable talent that this baring of her soul always works so well, because in the hands of a lesser talent, the music would be melodramatic, overly self-conscious, and would grow tiresome. However, it's not just her technique and artistry, which is impossible to ignore, but also her artist's soul, which seems woven into every piece of music she writes. No matter how pyrotechnic she can be (and this woman can really play piano with the best of 'em), there is always the presence of heart, sometimes "in your face" and sometimes between the lines, but never hidden behind artifice." Bill Binkelman- Wind & Wire and Zone Music Reporter
Michele started playing piano when she was very young. Her earliest memories are around the age of 5, playing piano for show-n-tell in kindergarten. She’s always had a musical ear, and could figure out any melody she heard. She has always been drawn to pianos… if there was a piano or keyboard in the room, she gravitated toward it, longing to touch and play it.
Michele started composing around the age of 8 and was very shy about her music growing up. She would write songs, but then be too embarrassed to share them with anyone. Over the years, she composed dozens of songs that only her close
immediate friends and family heard. It wasn’t until the year 2000, when her mom asked her to make a cassette tape of her music, that she released an album. “I had a makeshift recording setup… a borrowed digital piano, a tape recorder, and a quiet room. I recorded 20 of my favorite pieces I’d composed over the years, mistakes and all, titled the album “Beginnings” and made a couple dozen copies to give to friends and family. What I didn’t expect was the overwhelming flow of positive feedback from everyone. Comments like “Wow, I didn’t know you played so well!” or “You really should make more of these!”, and “This is some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard!” left me feeling a whole new world of emotions about my music than I’d ever felt before.”
This is when Michele decided to step it up a notch and record a “real album”. She purchased a digital piano and consulted her uncle who owns a recording studio on the ins and outs of recording at home. Feeling especially inspired and motivated by all the positive feedback she had received, she composed and recorded 16 songs over a four month period and released her second (but first official) album “Elysium”. The response she received was even more overwhelming than it had been with
“Beginnings” and she was so inspired that she decided to try and make a career out of being a musician.
Over the next six years, Michele released an additional six albums, started selling music online, and began building an
impressive fan base. In 2007, her dream of making music her career became reality when she was able to quit her corporate job to work on music full-time. In the thirteen years she has spent as a full time musician, she has released more than a dozen albums and has been featured on several compilation albums as well. Her music is a regular favorite on Pandora Radio and Spotify, and is a bestseller on iTunes and Amazon, often landing her in the Top Ten New Age Charts. She has been featured on radio stations worldwide, including SiriusXM, MusicChoice Soundscapes, Whisperings Solo Piano Radio and Echoes.
Michele performs and tours regularly and has played in over 200 concerts. She also runs her own in-home concert series and recording studio in her hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah.