Michael Abels

Michael Abels, born on October 8, 1962 in Phoenix, Arizona, is an American composer. He composed his first work at eight and had his first performance at thirteen. Abels studied at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he explored African percussion techniques and immersed himself in a multi-cultural environment. His breakthrough came with Global Warming, composed in 1991, which has been performed numerous times by major orchestras. In film, Abels is known for his collaborations with Jordan Peele, composing the scores for Get Out (2017), Us (2019), and Nope (2022). His opera Omar, co-composed with Rhiannon Giddens, earned him the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2023.