Michael Pandya is a British pianist and conductor, increasingly sought-after as a performer and vocal coach in the UK and Europe.
A former young artist at the Bayerische Staatsoper, he has appeared on the performance stage alongside many high-calibre established and emerging musicians including Graham Johnson, Željko Lučić, Jonathan Lemalu, Robin Tritschler, Michael Nagy, Ema Nikolovska, Freddie de Tommaso, Harriet Burns, William Thomas, Andrew Hamilton, Leo Popplewell and Sarah Gilford.
As a song pianist, Michael has been awarded several prestigious prizes including the Pianist Prize at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition, at the Gerald Moore Award, at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, and at the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards.
Highlights of recent seasons include performances at the Wigmore Hall, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wolf Akademie Stuttgart, Fundaçion Juan March Madrid, KlavierFestRuhr, Jubiläums Festival Munich, Oxford Lieder Festival, Newbury Spring Festival, Royal Overseas-League, the Barbican Hall, Leeds Lieder Festival, and live performances on BBC Radio 3. Michael is a Samling Artist, as well as being a regular pianist for the Samling Academy. He has given recitals for the Park Lane Group, the Concordia Foundation and City Music Foundation, and has received the Graham Johnson Fellowship at SongFest, Los Angeles.
Also a passionate vocal coach, Michael works as a member of staff at the Royal College of Music, as well as being regularly employed by the International Meistersinger Akademie and the Georg Solti Accademia. As a conductor and musical director, he has led from the harpsichord concerts given by Young Artists at the Bayerische Staatsoper, and will conduct the Opera Scenes at the RCM in May 2023. Previously he worked as a repetiteur for New Chamber Opera, directing, coaching and conducting numerous productions.
In 2022 Michael was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. Formerly Michael studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Music and University of Oxford. Teachers have included Graham Johnson, Julius Drake, Michael Dussek, James Baillieu, Ian Brown, Caroline Palmer and Sholto Kynoch.
'My time at the Academy was a hugely fruitful and fulfilling period. The weekly piano lessons resulted in vast levels of improvement in my playing, but perhaps what I learnt more than anything else was the importance of establishing and maintaining connections with other musicians. Through the frequent inter-departmental opportunities and social events that happen at the Academy, as well as group classes and performance opportunities, one is able to form lasting partnerships with musicians who share the enthusiasm for collaboration.'
Michael Pandya