Michael Udow is a percussionist, composer and emeritus professor at the University of Michigan. He was principal percussionist of the Santa Fe Opera from 1968 to 2009 and taught at Michigan from 1982 to 2011.
His performing career includes the New Orleans Philharmonic, Summit Brass and the Blackearth Percussion Group. He collaborated with Keiko Abe in chamber music over four decades, and toured for 37 years with dancer and choreographer Nancy Udow as the duo Equilibrium.
Udow’s compositions range from solo and chamber music to orchestral works and opera. His operas include The Shattered Mirror and Twelve Years a Slave; his marimba works include Stepping Stones, a duet written for Eriko Daimo and Pius Cheung. He was composer-in-residence with the Colorado Chamber Orchestra in 2014–15.