Michael Bell Music
COMPOSER, SONGWRITER, PERFORMER
Mike Bell is a scholar and author by day but a composer and performer by night.
Michael Bell is a composer, songwriter, and performer in both classical and grassroots traditions, often combining the two. His composition has an engaging and melodic sound and includes dozens of works for chamber ensembles, symphony, choir, mandolin orchestra, and solo piano.
He recently completed his first symphony, Regeneration: A Pentalogy, which is currently being choreographed by Kanopy Dance and premiered by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, through a three-year long collaboration they call ConFluence.
In 2010, Michael co-founded the award-winning quintet Graminy, whose four albums bring grassroots and classical music together in a style the group calls “class-grass.”
Michael is also a songwriter, focusing on social and environmental themes. He loves to write instrumentals that contribute to contradance, bluegrass, and Klezmer traditions, and has composed over a hundred reels, jigs, waltzes, airs, horas, and doinas.
Michael performs widely on mandolin, guitar, and banjo, as well as a vocalist. Among his bands are Tsuzamen, Elm Duo, Noise of the Boys, Graminy, and Fiddlasaurus Rex. He played for many years with the Barn Owl Band, with whom he recorded three albums.
Michael is also an author and scholar. See his separate site on his books, articles, and teaching HERE.
RENASCENCE
A ballet set to the music of Michael Bell's symphony REGENERATION - A Pentalogy
Renascence is a 45-minute ballet set to the music of Michael Bell’s symphony, Regeneration: A Pentalogy. Michael has been collaborating with Kanopy Dance Company and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra over a three year period to produce this work. The grand live premiere will be on February 27, 2026 in the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, WI. For Earth Day, 2025, Kanopy presented 3 of the 5 movements of Renascence. Below is a link to their performance of Movement III: Effervescence, set to Movement III of Regeneration. For the video of Movement I: Presence, click HERE, and the for the video of Movement II: Awakening, click HERE.