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PRESS & MEDIA
"...extraordinary."
New York Magazine
“gorgeous...adventurous”
Vox Magazine
RECENT PODCASTS
Healing the Spirit Podcast with Jonathan Koe: “HeartSong with Marisa Michelson and Katie Dove”
other people's words
“Marisa Michelson’s music has an authenticity to it that seems to heal through vibration. She captures sound in its purest form.”
Times Square Chronicles
“Michelson presents a vibrant sonic landscape that ranges from Middle Eastern music to modern EDM… The show sounds heavenly.” – Time Out New York (One Thousand Nights and One Day)
“It was composer Marisa Michelson’s seraphim touch that lifted the piece to the heavens. Michelson’s iconic musical explorations…brought the beauty, sensitivity and exotic, ethereal allure to the show with her astounding songs.” – The Beirut Times (One Thousand Nights and One Day)
“TAMAR OF THE RIVER sometimes sounds like it hails from a world where pop music followed a very different evolutionary path. Its Asian-influenced sounds are the opposite of Hamilton’s contemporary tones — but it’s just as adventurous.” – VOX Magazine (Tamar of the River)
“Michelson’s challenging and tonally complex music is some of the most unique and beautiful I’ve heard in musical theater. When [Michelson] writes music for the river…one imagines that this is what the prophets heard when receiving the word of God.” – Zack Sullivan, Theatermania (Tamar of the River)
“Ms. Michelson’s music is frequently exquisite and always melodic.” – The New York Times (Tamar of the River)
“Marisa Michelson’s music here is complex, haunting and exquisite.” – Tablet Magazine (One Thousand Nights and One Day)
“Marisa Michelson’s music is hard to describe; otherworldly, perhaps?” – Playbill
“In TAMAR OF THE RIVER, it is the vocals that give the recording its majesty and opulence. Chants, improvisations, dissonance, rich chords, and so much more permeate the air, soul, and mind as the recording plays. The vocal compositions are complex and earthy…Listeners who have experienced the work of Dave Malloy will instantly draw comparisons to him. They will also draw comparisons to Steve Reich’s works, where repetition, layering, and convoluted musicality all add depth and surreal richness to his compositions.” – Steven Suskin (Author of “The Sound of Broadway Music”)
"Epochs and civilizations later, Sappho’s lyric portal into this elemental dimension of the human heart comes newly alive in a haunting choral invocation by Constellation Chor — New York City’s vocally and culturally kaleidoscopic vocal ensemble, founded by the visionary aural architect Marisa Michelson, who composed the piece and performed it with ensemble members Jen Anaya, Kalli Siamidou, and Tamrin Goldberg."
Maria Popova, The Marginalian
“Marisa Michelson's...sonic expressions, from ethereal sounds to primal screams, animalistic wails and simply breath, are more aligned with vocal innovators like Kate Bush, Bjork, Florence Welch and even Yoko Ono than traditional musical theatre or opera.”
Cindy Sibilsky, StageBiz
“Her musical language goes beyond words and includes all manner of vocalizing with words and wails receiving equal weight…gorgeous harmonies and mystical dissonances that put us in a meditative state.” – Voce di Meche
“With a rich tapestry of complicated choral and musical stylings, Marisa Michelson’s inventive and experimental score has been recorded…Not since Dave Malloy’s NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812… have I had the pleasure to experience a score so meaty, unique, and vastly interesting in the genre of musical theatre.” – Broadway World
“ …Lyrical, melodic, yet dissonent music… Marisa Michelson’s music…is haunting and ethereal… Rarely do you see a piece that is so new and enchanting.” – Times Square Chronicles
“Michelson’s challenging and tonally complex music is some of the most unique and beautiful I’ve heard in musical theater.” – Theatermania
“Tamar of the River is a phenomenal effort of beauty.” – Theater is Easy
“It’s hard to imagine a more ambitious piece of musical drama coming out of indie theatre than Prospect Theater Company’s production of Tamar of the River…The narrative takes on immense power through Michelson’s rich and distinctive score.” – NY Theatre Now
“Tamar of the River…one of the most extraordinary scores in years.”
Jesse Green, New York Magazine
Marisa Michelson may well be one of the most exciting composers working in musical theater today…Michelson’s style is wholly unique and ignites listeners to sit up with curiosity and wonderment.”
Manhattan Digest
ARTICLES & FEATURES
2020 CORE SOUNDING – National Sawdust: A Workshop with Constellation Chor’s Marisa Michelson
2018 APEX HOUR – Southern Utah University: Podcast interview exploring “Constellation Chor,” “Naamah’s Ark” and Marisa's journey as a composer
The Interval: “Marisa Michelson on ‘One Thousand Nights and One Day’ and more”
American Theatre Magazine: “6 Theatre Workers You Should Know”
National Opera Association: “Composer Spotlight On: Marisa Michelson…Cultivating Spiritual Movement in Music Drama”