Photo by Claire Folger

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Michael Bierylo: Guitarist, Composer, Sound Designer

Visit Michael's web site

Other Sites:

• Teaching Support Web Page
• Berklee Bio

Originally from Detroit, Bierylo's early musical education came from a wealth of encounters ranging from Contemporary Composition with William Bolcom at the University Of Michigan to a misspent Summer playing Union halls with Motown sidemen. Further enlightenment followed under the tutelage of Guitar Pedagogue Jon Damien and Composer Michael Gibbs at Boston's Berklee College Of Music. Upon graduation (yes a BM.........) Bierylo spent most of the Reagan years in the wild and woolly Boston Rock scene. During this time, an ongoing interest in technology and introspection yielded two nationally distributed solo recordings, Lifeline and Cloud Chorus.

The 1990s brought new directions with tenure in Ibrahima's World Beat, documented on the release Sama Yie as well as a foray into eclectic improvised music with Packing For Egypt. In 1991, Bierylo replaced founding member Martin Swope in Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic. Mr. Bierylo is currently an Associate Professor of Music Synthesis at Berklee College of Music. His project studio, Virtual Planet, has been the source of music and sound design for numerous Film, Video and Multimedia projects over the last several years, serving clients such as Hasbro Interactive, Nintendo and Nickelodeon. A recent project with Olive Jar Animation Studios yielded music and sound design for Universal Studios Island Of Adventure. The studio continues as a laboratory for ongoing research. Mr. Bierylo lives at home (not his studio) with wife, child and 3 cats in lovely Brighton, Massachusetts.

WMBR Radio Show with guest bassist Derek VanBeever