| Dutch composer and conductor, born 1970 in Amsterdam. Hamel studied orchestration and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Den Haag. After his study he took part in the composition class of the Tanglewood Music Center, where he studied at Mario Davidovsky's.
Hamel writes compositions with widely divergent characters: from violin concertos to compositions for tape, small-scaled compositions to theatre music. In 1993 his composition `Fructus' was awarded the so-called "Aanmoedingsprijs voor Compositie" (trans: incentive prize for composition) by the Amsterdam Art Fund.
In his function of conductor, Hamel likes to deal with modern music. Many first performances are realized under his direction: during the rehearsal process he works intensively together with composers like György Ligeti and Theo Loevendie.
Since 1993 he regularly conducts at the New Ensemble and since 1997 also at the Schönberg Ensemble. In 1995 he became the artistic leader of the Percussion Group Den Haag, and in 1997 the assistent-conductor of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2001 he became chief-conductor of the Philharmonical Orchestra North Holland.
Micha Hamel is famous among a broad public for his television show `Harde Noten' ("Hard Notes"), a musical programme.
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