Michael Fitzpatrick is a Cello-soloist and 5-String Electric Cellist at the forefront of musically changing the atmosphere and awakening a climate of compassion in the world. He is the recipient of the Prince Charles Award for Musical Excellence conferred by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the International Day of Non-Violence Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award bestowed by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations. He has musically collaborated for the past nineteen years with Nobel Peace Prize laureate His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, sharing the world stage as performer and as part of TUNING THE PLANET – the unprecedented East-West musical recording and filming inside the largest cave in the world – United Nations World Heritage Site Mammoth Cave. His Holiness the Dalai Lama stated: “The emotion induced by Michael Fitzpatrick’s music is so powerful, it seems almost verbalized. His sound is Clear Light.” Mr. Fitzpatrick has performed as soloist around the world at venues ranging from the Hollywood Bowl, the Jordanian Royal Palace for King Abdullah II, the West Lawn of the United States Capitol, the Aspen Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, New York’s Lincoln Center, and most recently as soloist with The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, sharing the bill with Academy Award Winner Richard Dreyfuss and led by Maestro Steven Mercurio. His musical studies were at Yale University, Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, and New York University. Mr. Fitzpatrick performed, presented and served on the International Board of Advisors of the Aspen Institute’s Global Initiative on Culture, Diplomacy & the Arts. Described by The New York Times as possessing “a sense of humour, virtuosity and an ear for musical dialogue” and by NPR/National Public Radio as “an interpreter of the Muse”, Fitzpatrick is the Music Director of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards – Founder of the band VEHICLE with multi-instrumentalist and fusion musician Rami Yadid – and Founder & Creative Director of EARTH’S CALL, the global-broadcast event coming to the world in the days ahead.
