Copyright © Michael Leake 2011 A Brief Musical Bio Michael Leake (Mike to his friends) began playing the guitar at age 11 and picked up piano at 17. He was soon a lead vocalist in a rock band and started writing music for that genre. A couple of years later, he began performing as a solo pianist and vocalist. Desiring to expand his piano technique, he began to explore classical piano. Following coursework in music history at the University of New Mexico, he cultivated a keen interest in classical music, particularly Romantic Era composers. Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Chopin became favorites. About that same time he was tabbed to write the music for a traditional musical stage production. Research for this project quickly brought an appreciation for much of the Broadway music from decades past and a genuine admiration was born for Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Jerry Herman, and many others.   Through it all, his main passion has been composing. He writes instrumental music in a variety of styles, from lush orchestral grandeur to simple atmospheric and background pieces. He has a very large library of high quality orchestral and other sound samples at his disposal to produce a wide range of music in a variety of styles. Michael Leake  e  Composer Through it all, his main passion has been composing.