Michael was born in Yorkshire, England and studied the bassoon at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he had his first Alexander lessons with Elizabeth Langford.  He played with the Orchestra of the English National Ballet in London for 12 years. He trained to be an Alexander teacher from 1974-79 with Walter and Dilys Carrington, and has been teaching the Alexander Technique in Vienna since 1985.  From 1991 to 1996 he was a Guest Professor for the Alexander Technique at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria.  

He teaches every summer at the Mikulov Guitar Festival in the Czech Republic, and is a regular guest teacher at the IES Vienna (Institute for the International Education of Students) and at AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies) in Graz.  Michael plays the bassoon with two amateur orchestras in Vienna and with various chamber music ensembles. He also enjoys ballroom dancing, hiking and cycling. More recently he has spent his free time making lamps out of old musical instruments.