Michael Abels

Michael Abels (born October 8, 1962) is an American composer best known for the opera ''Omar'', co-written with Rhiannon Giddens, and his genre-defying scores for the Jordan Peele films ''Get Out'', ''Us'' and '' Nope''. 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''. His most recent 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''.

Abels' works also includes many concert works, such as ''At War With Ourselves'' for the Kronos Quartet, ''Isolation Variation'' for Hilary Hahn, and the opera ''Omar'' co-composed with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Rhiannon Giddens. 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.

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.

In 2023, the opera ''Omar'', co-written by Abels and Rhiannon Giddens, won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Provided by Wikipedia