A Midsummer Night's Dream

Michael Ching, The Composer

Michael Ching is a composer, songwriter, conductor, and former arts administrator. From 1992 through 2010, Mr. Ching served as Artistic Director of Opera Memphis, and frequently as General Director, too. He has served as guest conductor with a variety of companies including the Hawaii Opera Theater, Nashville Opera, and Amarillo Opera and is currently the Music Director of Nickel City Opera in greater Buffalo, New York. Michael is also the current chair of the Douglas Moore Fund.

Mr. Ching’s long career as an arts administrator and conductor, combined with his interest in songwriting, has led him to compose a variety of operas. His total operatic output to date includes eight one-act and three full-length operas. In addition to A Midsummer Night’s Dream — opera a cappella, some of Mr. Ching’s better known compositions include Buoso’s Ghost (1996), a sequel to Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi; Corps of Discovery (2003), commissioned by the University of Missouri-Columbia to commemorate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; and Slaying the Dragon (2012). His most recent work is Speed Dating Tonight! (2013), a one-act comedy commissioned by the Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center.

Mr. Ching attended Duke University where he studied with two opera composers, Iain Hamilton and Robert Ward, followed by further work with Carlisle Floyd as a member of the Houston Opera Studio.