Biography

A native of Milwaukee, WI, Michael Hey graduated in 2014 from the accelerated five-year degree program at the Juilliard School where he received both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in organ performance under Paul Jacobs.

In 2015 Mr. Hey was appointed Associate Director of Music and Organist of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, where one of his first major tasks was to perform for the first US visit of Pope Francis. He plays at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral for services throughout the week, which can be heard on broadcasts through Sirius XM radio, television, and online.

In December 2016 Mr. Hey made his San Francisco Symphony debut, performing Harrison’s Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra in SoundBox concerts led by Michael Tilson Thomas; he reprised this work for the 2017 Symphony Pride concert. In 2014 he was the featured organ soloist for the New York City Ballet’s newly-commissioned work Acheron, set to the music of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto. He has also performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Kimmel Center, the Kennedy Center, the Esplanade in Singapore, and the New World Symphony in Miami.

In 2017, Mr. Hey received first prize in the First Shanghai Conservatory of Music International Organ Competition, held at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Theater. His premiere solo recording, Michael T. C. Hey Plays the Great Organ of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, was released in 2017 on the JAV label.

Mr. Hey’s varied career includes collaborations with musicians such as Renée Fleming, Matthew Polenzani, and Isabel Leonard; solo piano recitals; improvising; and transcribing works. In April 2015 he recorded an anthology of songs by Robert Franz with baritone Tim Krol. Mr. Hey’s latest project is a series of duos  with violinist Christiana Liberis.

(February 2019)