Michele Weir
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- Los Angeles, CA
- Arranger
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Michele Weir is a veteran educator who has made significant contributions to the development of vocal jazz education around the globe. As an arranger / pianist / vocalist, she is known for her versatile skill set and ability to inspire. As one student put it, “Thank you again for being such an amazing mentor. You are truly the person I strive to be.”
Michele’s arrangements have been performed by notable vocal groups including New York Voices and the Swingle Singers, with orchestral works played by various symphonies including the Boston Pops. Michele served as Vocal Producer for the Manhattan Transfer’s 2009 CD release, The Chick Corea Songbook, also contributing two arrangements to the project. Her many arrangements for educational use are distributed widely through a number of different publishers including her own online company, the MichMusic Store.
Currently on faculty at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Michele is an active teacher and clinician, with past workshops in over 20 countries and presentations for some of the world’s most prestigious music conferences including the World Choral Symposium, the Jazz Education Network Conferences, and the ACDA National Conference.
Michele’s educational book/CD sets, Vocal Improvisation (Advance Music), Jazz Singer’s Handbook (Alfred Publishing), and Jazz Piano Handbook (Alfred Publishing) are widely-used internationally, and in 2015 she created the first-ever iOS app for scat singers, ScatAbility. The most recent project from Michele is the development of her online school for jazz singers and educators, MusicHabit.
Michele is a former vocal member of the Grammy-nominated PM Singers (under the direction of Phil Mattson,) and her duo CD as a vocalist with jazz guitarist Bruce Forman is titled, The Sound of Music.