J. Michael Saunders

Jason Michael Saunders was born in 1989 and was raised in the Portland, Oregon area. He is currently a Senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, where he is earning a Bachelor of Music Education degree with a Secondary Choral emphasis. Saunders has composed since the age of 16, and has conducted the premiere performances of many of his works. His choral compositions have been performed by a variety of ensembles across the country. At PLU, he regularly assembles and teaches student ensembles to perform new compositions. He holds the role of Assistant Conductor of the university’s Men’s Chorus under Dr. Brian Galante, and has served as a section leader in PLU’s Choir of the West and University Chorale. Saunders studies composition with Dr. Gregory Youtz, choral conducting with Dr. Richard Nance, voice with Charles Robert Stephens, and piano with Dr. Erin Chung.