Michael Sikich, age 20, has been praised by the Herald Times as a "genuine talent." He is a native of Santa Barbara, CA, and studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the instruction of Edward Auer. A recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award, he is pursuing a bachelor of music degree in piano performance, a minor in conducting, and a certificate in arts administration. He will give his debut solo recital in the fall of 2014 as part of the Belz-Parker Young Artists Ascending Concert Series. He recently won the concerto competition offered by the IU Jacobs School of Music piano department and performed Gershwin's Concerto in F with the IU Concert Orchestra under the baton of Arthur Fagen. He was a winner of the Edward Auer summer Piano Workshop Solo Competition and was a finalist in the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Concerto Competition. He has been the recipient of awards through the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition, and the Santa Barbara Music Club, which presented him with the Sergej Rakhmaninov Award for Outstanding Piano Virtuosity. He was a four-time winner of the Young Soloist Showcase Competition, performing concerti of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Gershwin under Gary Sheldon (Miami City Ballet) and Avlana Eisenberg (Boston Chamber Symphony). He was coached extensively in chamber repertoire by Nina Bodnar, former concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony. He has attended the CCM Prague International Piano Institute and the Banff Piano Masterclass and has orked with many notable teachers including Jerome Lowenthal, John Perry, Tamas Ungar, and Peter Bithell.