Michael has written over an hour of original score for Vivendi’s upcoming real-time strategy game Empire Earth 3. The music reflects the game’s varied geographical climates, as well as the ethnic identities of the various player factions. Michael was also deeply involved in planning the interactive music system, which allows the score to reflect not merely era and faction, but adjust in realtime to the intensity of combat.

In the words of producer Matt Persing, “Instead of having music that would simply accompany the game, it was our mission to ensure that the score reinforced the game experience. With a music engine that controls subtle variation, regional color, and environmental soundscapes, each replay is engaging and unique. ”

This game marks the third collaboration between Michael and developer Mad Doc Software, whose prior projects together include Empire Earth 2 and Jane’s Attack Squadron.

Michael has written the score for “Party Foul”, a short film posted online at Annheiser-Busch’s Bud.tv. Party Foul is the centerpiece of Bud.tv’s Finish Our Movie contest, where contestants submit a prospective midsection to complete a film. Michael wrote music both for the original front and end of the film, and collaborated with the winning director and production company MOR Entertainment to score the final section that completed the project.

Second Image Studio’s feature film Against Time is now available in Blockbuster, Netflix, and other DVD sales and rental outlets.

The film stars Robert Loggia, Ean Merrig, and Craig T. Nelson, and features fifty minutes of live orchestral score by Michael Gordon Shapiro, recorded with the Budapest Film Orchestra. A soundtrack album for the film is currently in preparation.

Game music site GSoundtracks.com interviews Michael about his work for Empire Earth 2 and other gaming projects.

Click here to read the interview.

Film music website musicfromthemovies.com includes Michael in its “Hidden Treasures” column.

Click here to read the article.

I’m pleased to announce that Identity: Zhongshan Zhuang, the guzheng concerto which I wrote with Victor Cheng, recently added another US performance to its history. The Cape Symphony performed the concerto this past Saturday and Sunday, including it with a selection of pieces from or related to Asian cultures.

As with every performance of the concerto to date, Su Chang returned as soloist. The Cape Cod Times said, she “plucked the multi-stringed guzheng robustly, creating an alluring sound-world, her vibrato extracting a vocalist’s texture from the instrument”.

Our recording of the concerto is available on most digital music marketplaces, including Amazon and Apple Music/iTunes. Orchestras interested in performing the piece can visit Janen Music Publishing for more information.

The world-renowned San Francisco Symphony will perform Michael’s concerto for guzheng as part of a February Chinese New Year Concert. The concert will be conducted by Mei-Ann Chen, who also conducted the concerto last year with the Chicago Sinfonietta. Su Chang will join the Symphony as guzheng soloist.

The concert will be on February 21st, 2015. More information can be found here.