Born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Michael Spencer studied composition with Graham Hair at the University of Glasgow where he received an MA in Music and Scottish Literature. Between 1997 and 2002, he completed a MusM and PhD in Composition with Geoff Poole at Manchester University. Between 1998 and 2004, he worked privately with James Dillon.

His music has been performed at the Henze Festival (RNCM), St Cyprian’s Church (London), the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (twice short-listed for the Young Composers’ Competition in 2000 and 2003), Instal 2002 (Glasgow), Maxis 2003 Festival (Leeds), in workshops by the Apollo Sax Quartet, Psappha, in France, Canada, at the Darmstädter Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Germany, 2004 and 2012, and extensively at Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds Universities. Toxic Knuckle Bones was performed by the BBC Philharmonic under James MacMillan on Radio 3’s Hear and Now programme in 2001. He has worked with notable performers such as Ensemble SurPlus, Ian Pace, Richard Casey, Modelo62, Trio Atem, Apartment House, Christophe de Bezenac, Adam Starkie and Geoff Poole. In 2003, he received a stipend to attend the International Summer Course for Composers at Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, where he worked with Chaya Czernowin, Steve Takasugi and Richard Barrett. His work la mer allée avec le soleil was performed there by Ensemble SurPlus and subsequently by them in Stuttgart and Freiburg.

In 1999, he co-founded Polaroid, an evening of new and experimental music at the Arches (Glasgow) with Tiernan Kelly and Freya Mitchell. Programmes included the Scottish premières of Cage’s 'Muyoce II', Nono’s 'Canti Per Tredici', and performances of Stockhausen and young British composers. Polaroid was the blueprint for the Arches’ Instal Festival, for which Spencer was a consultant in 2001 and 2002, organising the performance of Ligeti’s 'Poème Symphonique', works by Berio and Takemitsu and the UK première of Feldman’s 'Instruments III'. He has also conducted the University of Glasgow’s Kelvin Ensemble in a programme of Arkell, Yeats and Schumann. In 1999, he co-ordinated the performances of the music of Urugyan composer Graciela Paraskevaidas at Manchester University (as part of a tour of Universities organised by Stephen Davismoon). His research interests include the music of Brian Ferneyhough, James Dillon, Helmut Lachenmann, improvisation, live electronic-performer interaction, aesthetics and semiotic analysis which he taught at Manchester University for seven years. In 2003, he gave a lecture-recital a the University of Glasgow, a master-class in composition at the Junior Department of Trinity College of Music (London) and he was resident composition tutor for the National Youth Brass Band.

At the University of Leeds he runs and conducts the new music ensemble LSTwo which has performed under his artistic direction Stockhausen’s 'Kreuzspiel', Varèse’s 'Intégrales' and 'Ionisation', Lachenmann’s '…zwei Gefühle…, Musik mit Leonardo', Grisey’s 'Vortex Temporum' and Boulez’s 'Le marteau sans maître', Chaya Czernowin’s 'Afatsim', James MacMillan’s '…as others see us…', Beat Furrer’s 'Gaspra', Stäbler’s 'Luftspiegelungen – Ein Spiel fur Sieben' and a range of premières of postgraduate student work. He has published several articles on the creative process as well as on James Dillon’s music.

Spencer’s recent work includes  'Ungrund (after Boehme) V' for Trio Atem using text fragments by Heraclitus in a collaborative project with Willaim Hutson, premiered in March 2013, another new piece in his Ungrund cycle for Adam Starkie (solo clarinet) with ensemble was premiered in April 2013, and an article on the string quartets of James Dillon to be published by CMR later in 2013. 'Ungrund II (after Böhme)' for solo clarinet/kick-drum (one player)  was premièred in Strasbourg by Starkie before receiving its UK première in Leeds, April 2010. It recently received another performance at MusicA Festival, Strasbourg. 'Ungrund (after Boehme) I' for chamber ensemble was premièred by Ensemble Modelo62 as part of their UK Urbane Tour. 'The Eemis Stane – Homage to K.S. Sorabji' is available on a CD collection of new piano music recorded by Aleks Szram (fonorum label 2005) and his piano piece 'Message from Aiwass X (on his Horoscope)' has just been released on CD (Joyous Lake on primafacie records, performed by his past mentor Geoff Poole, to whom the piece is dedicated). His recent work for solo cello, 'Verdrängung von der Aufhebung' was premiered in Darmstadt by Andrej Gal. Current work in progress includes a large scale project entitled 'Intervolve' which explores the possibilities of the double bass within the framework of the thinking of Michel Foucault. The triptych is for accordion and double bass ('Intervolve' – completed); improvising solo double bass; three improvisers and three non improvisers ('Heterotopia' – work in progress); and a work for bass flute, harp and double bass ('L’Ordre du Discourse'). He is also writing a new work for ELISION ensemble (oboe, percussion and violin), a new piece for solo cello for Seth Woods and a new piece for Ian Pace for solo piano (and possibly other implements!).

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