Michael Strelo-Smith

Michael burst onto the national scene with his appearances on the hit NBC/Universal program America's Got Talent. He first appeared on season two finishing in the top 35. He returned for season three, where he finished in the top 25. He received an outpouring of support for his work around the world when the show began to air internationally. With numerous musical theatre performances to his credit, some of his favorite roles include: Archie (Secret Garden);Jack (Into the Woods); Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors); Charlie Brown (Snoopy!); Dickon (Secret Garden); Billy (Carousel in Concert); and was a featured soloist in productions of Closer Than Ever, The World Goes 'Round, and A Grand Night For Singing. Well at home on the operatic stage Mr. Strelo-Smith has been seen as Pooh Bah (The Mikado); Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe); Falke in (Die Fledermaus); and Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos). He garnered high critical praise for his interpretation of Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with West Bay Opera and Bay Shore Lyric Opera and Livermore Valley Opera. As a national finalist in the 2003 Classical Productions Voice Competition, Mr. Strelo-Smith was heard in Carnegie Hall - Weill Recital Hall. In 2000 Mr. Strelo-Smith received a study grant from the Licia Albanese - Puccini Foundation and was invited to appear in the annual winners concert in New York's Alice Tully Hall. He is also a past 1st place winner of the Berkeley Piano Club Voice Competition and a semi-finalist in the Loren L. Zachary Society for the Performing Arts. Since 2014 the multi-award winning singer earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Musical Performance from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA where his work focused on the integration of social justice and LGBTQIA+ issues with performance. This culminated in a lecture recital Queer Liberation Theology: an Exploration of LGBTQIA+ Oppression Through Song. The work has been toured throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with excerpts presented in Scotland and Germany. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Musical Performance with a minor in Religious Studies, summa cum laude, also from Notre Dame de Namur University. He is currently creating new works to honor the process of and ultimately the ending of a 15 year journey of grief and loss. In addition to these emotional and academic transformations he has also shed over 400 pounds of excess weight. His continued creativity, energy and commitment to working with people of all ages and abilities has placed in high demand as a Vocal Coach, Voice Instructor and Master Teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work has expanded to students internationally since the onset of the global pandemic. He continues to pursue work as a creative and creative guide.