Percussionist Michael Calabrese has performed in venues across the country, including The Knitting Factory, The Bitter End, and Kenny’s Castaway in New York City, Zeitgeist Gallery in Boston, World Café Live in Philadelphia, The Continental in Houston, the Red Fez in Austin, the Hotel Utah in San Francisco, and the Key Club in Los Angeles.

He has had the privilege of playing under the direction of Jazz legends Bob Brookmeyer, Gunther Schuller, and George Russell while holding the drum set chair in New England Conservatory’s Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Composer’s Workshop Orchestra.

In 2003, the Jazz Orchestra played in conjunction with the NEC Philharmonia for the world premier of Gunther Schuller’s “Encounters,” a modern piece combining jazz and classical instrumentation.

In 2004, this same group won an award for its performance of George Russell’s Grammy nominated piece “The African Game” at the International Association of Jazz Educators’ conference in New York City.

Michael is comfortable playing many different styles of music including Jazz, Avant-Garde, Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, Ska, and Balkan music. By the age of nineteen, he was on his first full-length professionally recorded album, a CD by the New York-based singer/songwriter Cheryl B. Engelhardt entitled S.O.A.R. (Shoes Off And Run). As part of her group, Mike has played extensively in New York and venues in Boston, Philadelpha, and major cities on the west coast: this past summer Cheryl's band spent two weeks on the road from San Diego to Seattle, heralding their first tour.

He also spent a week in the midwest with Lake Street Dive, which was their maiden rock voyage. Now they're getting ready to release an album of their own, culminating the fruits of their labor in America's Heartland.

Michael is currently completing his undergraduate degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. As an avid and frequent performer at his school, he has had the opportunity to share the stage with jazz greats such as Roscoe Mitchell and Harvey Mason.

His current private teachers are drum legends Bob Moses and Billy Hart, as well as bassist Cecil McBee. He has been coached in ensembles by Dave Holland, John McNeil, Frank Carlberg, Bob Moses, Joe Morris, and Dominique Eade, among others.