Michael Ching is an American composer and conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

.

Ching was born in Honolulu in 1958 and raised in New Orleans and St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended Duke University

Duke University

Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 where he studied with composers Iain Hamilton

Iain Hamilton (composer)

Iain Ellis Hamilton was a Scottish composer.He was educated in London where he became an apprentice engineer, and remained in that profession for the next seven years. He undertook the study of music in his spare time...

 and Robert Ward. Upon graduation, he was a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio where he studied further with Carlisle Floyd

Carlisle Floyd

Carlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...

. From 1992 until 2010 he was Artistic Director of Opera Memphis

Opera Memphis

Opera Memphis is a non-profit arts organization in Memphis, Tennessee. It was established in 1956 in conjunction with the founding of WKNO-FM, the local public radio affiliate....

 and has guest-conducted for Opera New Jersey

New Jersey State Opera

The New Jersey State Opera is an opera company based in Newark, New Jersey. It was established in 1964 as the Opera Theater of Westfield, and shortly after opening Alfredo Silipigni was hired as Artistic Director. The name was changed to the Opera Theatre of New Jersey in 1965, and in 1968 the...

, Nashville Opera

Nashville Opera Association

The Nashville Opera Association is a professional opera company in Nashville, Tennessee and is a member of OPERA America. The company currently offers three fully staged opera productions and the On Tour educational outreach program during an annual season which runs from October through April...

, Hawaii Opera Theatre

Hawaii Opera Theatre

The Hawaii Opera Theatre is an opera company located in Honolulu, Hawaii, which became active in 1961. The company typically performs three operas during February and March in Blaisdell Concert Hall...

 and other companies.

Ching's opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s include Buoso's Ghost, Corps of Discovery (2003), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Slaying the Dragon. In addition to theatre compositions, he has written two works for the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, a piano concerto and Psyche and Eros. Ching currently lives in Iowa.