Born and raised in Mound, MN, a small town just outside of Minneapolis, Mike took to music at an early age like most of his fellow composers. He started writing music initially because he found it easier than learning someone else’s music, and as time went on he discovered he had a knack for it.
He also discovered around this time that he didn’t like to leave the movie theaters after the movie was done. The power of the motion picture to completely submerge our experience into a story was so fascinating to him, and he realized that it was in large part due to the music. After his classical training at Ithaca College (and a couple student films), it became very clear to Mike that he had to pursue this fascination. He packed his bags and moved to LA to enroll in the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at USC in 2004.
Since USC he has worked on shows such as Notes From The Underbelly, Eastwick, The Mentalist, and most recently Once Upon A Time. He has scored commercials for Guinness and Canon, as well as contributed to various library music catalogs.
Prominent Works
- 2015 – The Squeeze (composer)
- 2015 – The Great Gilly Hopkins (composer: additional music)
- 2015 – The Longest Ride (composer: additional music)
- 2011-2015 – Once Upon a Time TV series (composer: additional music)
- 2008-2011 – The Mentalist TV Series (composer: additional music)
