Michael Abels

Michael Abels (born October 8, 1962) is an American composer best known for his genre-defying scores for the Jordan Peele films Get Out and Us, for which Abels won a World Soundtrack Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award, a Critics Choice nomination, and multiple' critics awards. The hip-hop influenced score for Us was short-listed for the Oscars and was even named “Score of the Decade” by TheWrap. Other recent media projects include the films Bad Education, Nightbooks, Fake Famous, and the docu-series Allen v. Farrow. Current releases include Beauty which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix, Breaking (formerly 892) which premiered at Sundance, and his third collaboration with Jordan Peele, Nope.

Michael Abels – photo by Eric Schwabel

Abels’ works also includes many concert works, such as At War With Ourselves for the Kronos Quartet,^[1] Isolation Variation for Hilary Hahn, and the opera Omar co-composed with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Rhiannon Giddens.^[2][3] Some of these pieces are available on the Cedille Records, including Delights & Dances and Winged Creatures. Current commissions include a work for the National Symphony Orchestra and a guitar concerto for Mak Grgić.^[4]

Abels is co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, gaming and streaming media.^[5]

Early life

Abels was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He spent his early years on a small farm in South Dakota, where he lived with his grandparents. Introduced to music via the family piano, he began showing an innate curiosity towards music at age 4.^[6] His music-loving grandparents convinced the local piano teacher to take him on as a student despite his age. At age 8, Abels began composing music, and by age 13, his first completed orchestral work was performed.^[7]

Upon graduating from high school, Abels attended the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles. Abels, who is mixed race,^[8] eventually studied West African drumming techniques at California Institute for the Arts, and sang in a predominantly black church choir to further explore his African-American roots.^[9]

Filmography

Composer

• Get Out (2017)
• Us (2019)
• See You Yesterday (2019)
• All Day and a Night (2020)
• Bad Education (2020)
• Fake Famous (2021)
• Nightbooks (2021)
• Nope (2022)
• Breaking (2022)

Additional music

• Detroit (2017)

Other works

• Falling Sky, ballet (2020)
• At war with ourselves, a concert piece on a poem by Nikky Finney
• Omar, an original opera on the life of Omar ibn Said co-composed by Rhiannon Giddens^[10]
• Get Out, in concert (2020)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2017	Fright Meter Awards	Best Score	Get Out	Nominated
	World Soundtrack Awards	Discovery of the Year		Nominated
	International Online Cinema Awards	Best Original Score		Won
2018	International Film Music Critics Awards	Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film		Nominated
	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Score		Won
2019	Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award	Best Original Score	Us	Won
	World Soundtrack Awards	Discovery of the Year		Won
	Indiana Film Journalists Association	Best Musical Score		Won
	Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards	Best Score		Nominated
	Chicago Film Critics Association Award	Best Original Score		Nominated
	Phoenix Critics Circle	Best Score		Nominated
	Seattle Film Critics Society Awards	Best Original Score		Nominated
	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score- Horror Film		Won
	Fright Meter Awards	Best Score		Won
2020	51st NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album		Nominated
	Critics Choice Awards	Best Score		Nominated
	Black Reel Award	Outstanding Score		Won
	Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Award	Best Music		Nominated
	Music City Film Critics' Association Award	Best Score		Nominated
	North Carolina Film Critics Association	Best Music		Nominated
	Online Film & Television Association, OFTA Film Award	Best Music, Original Score		Nominated
	Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards	Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film		Nominated
	Austin Film Critics Association Awards	Best Score		Nominated
	International Film Music Critics Award	Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film		Nominated
	Central Ohio Film Critics Association	Best Score		Won
	Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Award	Best Original Score		Won
	Georgia Film Critics Association	Original Score		Nominated
	Gold Derby Awards	Original Score		Nominated
	Hawaii Film Critics Society	Best Original Score		Nominated
	Hollywood Critics Association	Best Score		Nominated
	Houston Film Critics Society Awards	Best Original Score		Nominated
	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Original Score		Won

References

1. "At War With Ourselves - 400 Years of You". University of South Carolina. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
2. Cooper, Michael (10 June 2019). "Rhiannon Giddens is Writing An Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
3. "Omar, A World Premiere Opera in 2022". Spoleto Festival USA. 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
4. Grgic, Mak. "GUITAR CONCERTO BY MICHAEL ABELS WITH ROCO ORCHESTRA". MakGrgic.com. Schmidt Artists International, Inc.
5. "Composer for 'Get Out' and 'Us' Talks Diversity, Inclusiveness in Music". NBCUniversal Media. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
6. De Lerma, Dominique-Rene. "African Heritage Symphonic Series Vol. III". Liner note essay. Cedille Records CDR066.
7. "Michael Abels: Biography". Kennedy Center. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
8. "Michael Abels, Composer Of Jordan Peele's Us, Balances Terror With Empathy". NPR. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
9. Davis, Andrew (24 June 2009). "Michael Abels: A composer makes 'Waves'". Windy City Times. Windy City Media Group. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
10. Cooper, Michael (June 11, 2019). "Rhiannon Giddens Is Writing an Opera". The New York Times. p. C3. Retrieved July 7, 2022.

External links

• Profile at SubitoMusic.com
• IMDB Page
• Michael Abels Website