Michael Beattie, harpsichord and organ

Michael Beattie has established himself as a musician of exceptional versatility through his work as keyboard player, vocal coach, and conductor. As Associate Conductor of Emmanuel Music, he has conducted numerous times in the weekly Bach cantata series at Emmanuel Church in Boston and made his Emmanuel Music opera debut conducting Handel's Ariodante. Other recent performances with that organization include Bach's St. John Passion and an acclaimed concert of Bach's six motets.

This past summer, Mr. Beattie made his Glimmerglass Opera debut conducting Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. A highly regarded continuo player, Mr. Beattie has performed in the US and Europe as harpsichordist and organist with Emmanuel Music, Cantata Singers, Boston Baroque, Boston Cecilia, Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, the Mark Morris Dance Group, and at the Carmel Bach Festival. In November and December of this year he joins Les Violons du Roy for their 25th anniversary tour in performances of Messiah and Bach's Christmas Oratorio. In demand as a vocal coach specializing in music of the Baroque and Classical periods, he has been on the music staff of Glimmerglass Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Carmel Bach Festival and has served as musical assistant to Baroque specialists Harry Bicket, Jane Glover, Emmanuelle Haïm, and Bernard Labadie. He is a founding member and harpsichordist of Favella Lyrica and the Baroque chamber ensemble Très. He was Assistant Conductor for Peter Sellars’ stagings of the Mozart/da Ponte operas conducted by Craig Smith, which were performed throughout the U.S. and Europe and recorded for television. In 1998, he made his opera-conducting debut in the first Boston performance of Handel’s Rodelinda.

Mr. Beattie is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Boston University. He has been on the faculties of the Tanglewood Music Center and the Walnut Hill School and is currently a Teaching Associate at Boston University. He has recorded for KOCH International Classics and Nonesuch records.