Biography
Piano
Michael Feinstein
In addition to being one of the leading musical entertainers and piano virtuosos of recent decades, Michael Feinstein’s work as an educator, archivist, interpreter, and ambassador of the Great American Songbook has established him as a preeminent force in contemporary music. He has received five Grammy Award nominations, a special Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre, two Emmy nominations of his television specials, and acclaim for his NPR series.
In 2007, Feinstein founded the Great American Songbook Foundation and for over a decade served as a founding member on the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board. He was named principal pops conductor for the Pasadena Symphony in 2012 and made his conducting debut in June 2013. He serves as artistic director of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, a home to diverse live programming and a museum for memorabilia and manuscripts. Since 1999, he has served as artistic director for Carnegie Hall’s “Standard Time with Michael Feinstein” in conjunction with ASCAP, and in 2010 became the director of the Jazz and Popular Song Series at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Feinstein’s at the Nikko, his nightclub at San Francisco’s Nikko Hotel, has presented top talents of pop and jazz since 2013. His first venue in New York, Feinstein’s at the Regency, featured Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, and Alan Cumming from 1999 to 2012. Feinstein opened a Los Angeles location, Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in June 2019; launched Feinstein’s at the Hotel Carmichael in Carmel, Indiana, in 2021; and debuted Feinstein’s at The Taper in Los Angeles in 2023.
Feinstein was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he started playing piano at age five. At 20, he moved to Los Angeles where he met the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant who then introduced him to Ira Gershwin. Feinstein became Gershwin’s assistant, which earned him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs. Gershwin’s influence provided a solid base upon which Feinstein evolved into a captivating performer, composer, and arranger of his own original music. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in July 1987.
In 2007, Feinstein founded the Great American Songbook Foundation and for over a decade served as a founding member on the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board. He was named principal pops conductor for the Pasadena Symphony in 2012 and made his conducting debut in June 2013. He serves as artistic director of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, a home to diverse live programming and a museum for memorabilia and manuscripts. Since 1999, he has served as artistic director for Carnegie Hall’s “Standard Time with Michael Feinstein” in conjunction with ASCAP, and in 2010 became the director of the Jazz and Popular Song Series at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Feinstein’s at the Nikko, his nightclub at San Francisco’s Nikko Hotel, has presented top talents of pop and jazz since 2013. His first venue in New York, Feinstein’s at the Regency, featured Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, and Alan Cumming from 1999 to 2012. Feinstein opened a Los Angeles location, Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in June 2019; launched Feinstein’s at the Hotel Carmichael in Carmel, Indiana, in 2021; and debuted Feinstein’s at The Taper in Los Angeles in 2023.
Feinstein was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he started playing piano at age five. At 20, he moved to Los Angeles where he met the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant who then introduced him to Ira Gershwin. Feinstein became Gershwin’s assistant, which earned him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs. Gershwin’s influence provided a solid base upon which Feinstein evolved into a captivating performer, composer, and arranger of his own original music. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in July 1987.
