House of AUM welcomes world-renowned cellist Michael Fitzpatrick for a special Solstice Concert on Sunday, December 22nd at 6:00 p.m. The concert will benefit Millenia Music, the non-profit Fitzpatrick founded that brings healing music to the underserved and transcendent concerts and media to the world audience. Suggested donation is $25.00. Seating is limited. Reservations are recommended.

Fitzpatrick took his first cello lessons with Shirley Mullins in 1973, and under the tutelage of Becky Brunsman, he made his vocal debut shortly thereafter at Mills Lawn Elementary.   He has appeared in concert in Yellow Springs over the past several decades under the auspices of Chamber Music Yellow Springs and thanks to the patronage of Jane Baker and Dorothy & Bill Scott.

Hailed by the New York Times as possessing “Virtuosity, and an ear for musical dialogue” and by NPR /National Public Radio as “An Interpreter of the Muse”, Michael Fitzpatrick is the recipient of The Prince Charles Award for Musical Excellence conferred by HRH The Prince of Wales. Sir George Martin, Producer of The Beatles, stated: “Fitzpatrick is beyond a marvelous talent – and I could not agree with him more: Music is the only thing that can change the world.” 

Fitzpatrick has collaborated with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama for the past twenty-three years, sharing the world-stage and performing the Musical Keynotes for His Holiness’ Public Talks and Teachings, prompting His Holiness to state: “The emotion induced by Michael Fitzpatrick’s music is so powerful, it seems almost verbalized. His sound is Clear Light.”  Fitzpatrick’s collaboration with The Dalai Lama has been featured on PBS’ The Newshour with Jim Lehrer and on NPR / National Public Radio, and his pioneering recording COMPASSION, the unprecedented East-West musical convergence forged in the depths of Mammoth Cave, the largest cave system in the world, received support from the National Endowment of the Humanities and was nominated for a Special Merit Award at The Grammys by the late Bruce Lundvall, President Emeritus of EMI Jazz & Classics, who stated: “Compassion is at once both a prayer and an aural celebration of brotherhood and world peace. It has the power to bring hope and feelings of human compassion to all who listen.”  

Fitzpatrick was instrumental in bringing together Muhammad Ali and The Dalai Lama for their historic Blessing Ceremony, and currently serves as Music Director of The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards. 

At the forefront of using music as a vehicle for global transformation, Sylvia Howard Fuhrman, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, stated: “Michael Fitzpatrick has the respect and friendship of government leaders and members of the Performing Arts community throughout the world. I find his interest in all endeavors – artistic and intellectual, combined with his enormous talent and enthusiasm used by him to enhance his global commitment to using music to uplift humanity – a source of great encouragement to those of us engaged in reaching out to every race, creed and culture here at the United Nations, and around the world. As a close personal friend of the late Pablo Casals, I can think of no more exemplary artist.”

He has collaborated and shared the stage, studio and programs with luminaries of the past fifty years, including the aforementioned His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, The Beatles’ Producer Sir George Martin, President Jimmy Carter, Joni Mitchell, rock legend Alan Parsons, founder of The Alan Parsons Project and engineer of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Academy and Grammy Award Winner Melissa Etheridge, Peter Gabriel, The Edge from U2, Grammy Award winner Michael McDonald, Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss, decoder of the Human Genome, J. Craig Venter, Arun Gandhi, Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi, Mairead Maguire, Jody Wiilliams, Rigoberto Mencha Tum, and myriad other figures.

Fitzpatrick performs as cello-soloist around the world, with spotlight performances at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Bowl, Times Square in New York City, the United Nations, the National Cathedral, Lincoln Center, New York’s Town Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Aspen Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona and Melbourne, on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., at the Jordanian Royal Palace for His Majesty King Abdullah II, at Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, the Dead Sea, as soloist with The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Jerusalem, and at The Vatican for the Holy Father, Pope Francis. He comes from Jewish family of Polish & Ukrainian musicians that includes his late grandmother, Rose Bein Lerman, pianist and vocal coach to the Cantor and Metropolitan Opera star, Jan Peerce – and Bronislaw Huberman, legendary violin virtuoso and Founder of The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.  

Fitzpatrick is the Founder of Millenia Music, the non-profit celebrating its 25 Year Anniversary, founded to bring healing music to the underserved and transcendent concerts and media to the world audience.

Fitzpatrick’s artistry has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, USA Today, NPR/National Public Radio, and on television on PBS’ The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and PBS/WNET.  His thoughts on music and life live alongside those by The Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Shimon Peres, Bono, and Sophia Loren.  The Huffington Post summarized: “Possessed of a chill-axed surfer dude vibe, what Fitzpatrick does with a Cello cannot be adequately described a mere music: I can best describe the sounds he pours out of that instrument as simple beauty that fills one’s soul with nothing less than pure joy and peace. Plus, he just flat-out rocks!” 

www.michaelfitzpatrick.com + www.tuningtheplanet.com